No charges will be filed against Juan Ortiz, a Walworth County Sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed Christopher Davis, a 21-year-old Milwaukee man, in February.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice released hours of video and documents on Tuesday.
According to the Walworth County District Attorney's Office, two people from Milwaukee were going to sell some cocaine to a man outside Roma's Restaurant in East Troy on February 23.
Davis let them use his car to get there and went along for the ride, according to the DA, but the person they were meeting was a confidential informat.
When the men arrived, law enforcement was there to arrest them.
"I can hear someone say, 'Show me your hands, show me your hands, show me your hands,'" Ortiz said.
Ortiz said instead of surrendering, the driver of the car put it in reverse.
"I hear the tires squeal again but this time the car is going forward and it's heading directly at me," Ortiz said.
That's when Ortiz fired into the car. Davis was shot in the head.
The driver took off and lead police on a chase onto I-43 and that ended in Mukwonago. District Attorney Daniel Neicci said the reason he decided to clear Ortiz was the deputy feared for his life.
"He responded with force that could cause great bodily harm or death and because of that his actions were privileged," he said.
Neicci said he spoke with the victim’s family for nearly two hours to explain why he cleared the deputy.
The victim’s family embraced each other in disbelief after the decision was announced. Their lawyer said his family is too devastated to talk at this point.
"The family is committed to thoroughly getting to the bottom of this and we are certain that justice will be done at some point," said Alex Flynn, the Davis family attorney.
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Maria Hamilton was also with the Davis family to show her support. Her son Dontre was shot and killed by a Milwaukee police officer. She said she plans to mention this case next week during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.
