RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) 鈥� A former Arkansas sheriff's deputy was charged Friday with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a white teenager whose death has drawn the attention of national civil rights activists.
A special prosecutor announced the felony charge against Michael Davis, a former sergeant with the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office, in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain. Davis faces between three and 10 years in prison if convicted.
Davis outside an auto repair shop along Arkansas Highway 89 south of Cabot, a city of about 26,000 people roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Little Rock.
Davis told investigators he shot Brittain once in the neck during the traffic stop after the teen reached into the back of his truck and did not comply with his commands to show his hands, according to the arrest affidavit. Brittain was holding a container 鈥� which his family members have said held antifreeze 鈥� and no evidence of firearms were found in or near the truck, the affidavit said.
A passenger with Brittain said he and the teen had been working on the transmission for Brittain's truck. The passenger told investigators he never heard Davis tell the teen to show his hands.
Davis, who is white, in July for not turning on his body camera until after the shooting occurred. Staley said there鈥檚 no footage from the shooting, only the aftermath.
Several members of Brittain鈥檚 family and friends shouted, 鈥渢hank you Jesus,鈥� as Phillips announced the charge. Phillips said a bond hearing for Davis would be held on Monday.
Jesse Brittain, the teen鈥檚 uncle, said he was glad to see Davis charged with something though he would have preferred a more serious charge.
鈥淭his is something,鈥� he told reporters after the announcement. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to take this and see what else (Phillips) has got to say and hopefully this will stick. He won鈥檛 be an officer no more and he can鈥檛 kill no more kids.鈥�
Brittain and two attorneys who represented George Floyd. They said the teen鈥檚 death highlighted the need for interracial support for efforts to reform police practices. Brittain's family and friends have regularly demonstrated outside the Lonoke County sheriff's office, demanding more details on the shooting.
Floyd when a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin the handcuffed Black man鈥檚 neck to the ground. His death sparked nationwide protests over policing and racial inequality.
Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press
