Norton Statement on Decision Not to Prosecute MPD Officer Who Shot and Killed African American Motorcyclist

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the following statement after the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia announced there would be no indictment of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer who shot and killed Terrence Sterling on September 11, 2016.

"As usual with prosecutorial decisions, we do not have information on why the prosecutor declined to move forward. We have seen far too many police shootings of unarmed African Americans in our country, and the public is frustrated by the difficulty in getting prosecutions of officers. There was no need for the police to engage in this vehicle chase, which violated MPD policy, and, as a result, we tragically lost another young African American man in a police shooting that should have been avoided. My thoughts today are with the family, friends, and loved ones of Terrence Sterling."