In May 2017, federal prosecutors found there wasn’t sufficient evidence to warrant civil rights charges against the officers although the act was caught on video by cell phones and security cameras. The federal prosecutors also cited use-of-force experts who determined the officers’ actions were reasonable under the circumstances and that Sterling struggled with the officers and failed to follow police commands.
The Justice Department also said evidence couldn’t prove or disprove Salamoni’s assertion that Sterling was reaching for a gun. CNN also reports that in March 2018, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry declined to file charges saying in a written report on the investigation: “We have concluded that the officers in question acted as reasonable officers under existing law and were justified in their use of force.”
