MIAMI — The Justice Department on Tuesday closed its investigation into the shooting death three years ago of Trayvon Martin,
the unarmed black teenager in a hoodie who became a symbol of racial
profiling and the face of a protest movement, without filing hate-crime
charges against the gunman, George Zimmerman.
The
department began its civil rights investigation shortly after a
national furor erupted over Mr. Martin’s death in Sanford, Fla., which
set off protests, demands for justice and an emotional response
from President Obama. The shooting was the first in a string of
racially tinged cases involving the deaths of young black men that have
prompted a rethinking of the nation’s criminal justice system.
Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted
of second-degree murder in a state court in 2013; some jurors said they
believed that he had shot Mr. Martin, 17, in self-defense.
The
conclusion of the investigation came as Attorney General Eric H. Holder
Jr. neared the end of his tenure. The shooting was one of several
racially fraught cases that Mr. Holder said the department would finish
investigating before he stepped down. The Justice Department is also
conducting two civil rights investigations into the shooting death of
Michael Brown, another unarmed black teenager, who was killed by a white
police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in August. In that case, violent
protests erupted after the shooting. A grand jury declined to indict the
officer.
Other police-involved deaths, including the choking of an unarmed man in Staten Island and the shooting of a Cleveland boy holding a realistic, airsoft-style gun, have fueled concerns about police conduct and racial profiling.
The
lawyer for Mr. Martin’s family, Benjamin L. Crump, said the parents,
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, were badly shaken by the news that the
federal government would not bring charges. The family met with Justice
Department officials in Miami on Tuesday. “This is very painful for
them; they are heartbroken,” Mr. Crump said. “But they have renewed
energy to say that we are going to fight harder to make sure that this
doesn’t happen to anybody else’s child.”
Ms. Fulton and Mr. Martin have become national figures and, through their foundation,
are trying to help reduce violence in black and Hispanic communities
and expand educational opportunities for minority students.
Since
his acquittal, Mr. Zimmerman has had numerous run-ins with the law.
Last month, he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, accused
of throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend. In 2013, shortly after his
acquittal, he was arrested after a heated fight with another
girlfriend, but the woman asked prosecutors not to press charges. And in
2014, the police in Lake Mary, Fla., said a driver had told officers
that Mr. Zimmerman threatened him during what was described as a road
rage incident.
The
federal inquiry was started to pursue “an independent investigation”
into the shooting after local police officials and prosecutors were slow
to arrest and charge Mr. Zimmerman; they argued that Florida’s
self-defense laws would make it difficult to prove a criminal case. Gov.
Rick Scott then appointed a special prosecutor who eventually charged
Mr. Zimmerman.
Federal
investigators interviewed 75 witnesses, reviewed all the material
gathered by the State of Florida and examined evidence relating to Mr.
Zimmerman’s encounters with law enforcement after his acquittal,
according to a statement. But none of that was enough to prove that Mr.
Zimmerman, who is part Peruvian, killed Mr. Martin because of his race.
The
bar for prosecuting hate crimes is high — proving negligence or
recklessness is not enough — and Mr. Holder said the “standard for a
federal hate crime prosecution cannot be met under the circumstances
here.” Mr. Zimmerman’s former lawyer, Mark O’Mara, has said his client
is not a racist, saying he has black friends and mentored two black
youths.
The
Justice Department’s investigation into the Ferguson case is no less
difficult, and is perhaps even tougher, because it focuses on a police
officer who fired his weapon in the line of duty.
Mr.
Zimmerman’s case also swirled, to a large extent, around issues of
race. Prosecutors said Mr. Zimmerman forced a confrontation with Mr.
Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, because Mr. Martin was an unfamiliar tall black
teenager in a hoodie walking around Mr. Zimmerman’s gated community one
rainy night. Mr. Martin was in Sanford with his father, visiting his
father’s fiancée.
A
rash of burglaries in the area had heightened Mr. Zimmerman’s concerns,
and as the neighborhood watch leader, he said, he was suspicious of Mr.
Martin. He got out of his car — ignoring the advice of a police
dispatcher — and followed Mr. Martin, setting off a confrontation that
led to Mr. Martin’s death, prosecutors said.
Angry
at Mr. Zimmerman and feeling threatened, Mr. Martin pushed him to the
ground, punched him and slammed his head into the pavement, leaving
visible wounds, defense lawyers said. Mr. Zimmerman, flat on his back,
took out a gun and killed Mr. Martin. He told the police it was
self-defense.
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