Prosecutor Says White Officer Acted in 'Self Defense' in Fatal Shooting of Black Man, Won't Face Charges

RALEIGH, N.C. (TheBlaze/AP) -- A prosecutor said Wednesday that a white North Carolina officer acted in self-defense and won't face charges for shooting a black man in a case that sparked outcry in his predominantly black neighborhood.

Police have said previously that 24-year-old Akiel Denkins was armed and reached for Officer D.C. Twiddy's weapon before the officer shot and killed him in late February.

Akiel Denkins (Image source: WRAL-TV)

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said she concluded Twiddy acted in self-defense after interviews with 40 witnesses and crime lab analysis of more than 35 pieces of evidence. She said in a news release that Twiddy shot Denkins "as a matter of last resort and only because he reasonably believed his own life was in danger."

"Based on all the evidence available, it is the conclusion of the District Attorney that Officer Twiddy shot Mr. Denkins in self-defense and as a matter of last resort and only because he reasonably believed his own life was in danger," Freeman said, according to WRAl-TV.

"No criminal charges in this matter are warranted based on the evidence available," Freeman added.

Twiddy was seeking to arrest Denkins after he failed to appear in court on felony drug charges, authorities said.

Many in the neighborhood where Denkins was shot expressed anger over the shooting, which happened in the wake of other high-profile police shootings and a national debate over how officers treat black men.

More than 200 people crammed into a church in March to mourn Denkins, including the Raleigh mayor and the head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP.

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