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No charges filed against Tampa police officers in fatal shooting of drive-by suspect

TAMPA, Fla. — Charges will not be filed against five Florida police officers in connection with the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man suspected in a drive-by shooting in April, authorities said Thursday.

In a statement, Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren’s office said, “There is no legal basis” to charge any of the five Tampa police officers in the April 28 death of Jonas Joseph, WTSP reported.

According to police, Joseph pulled a gun on officers and hit a patrol car after a traffic stop, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Police said Jonas opened fire while trying to escape, and officers returned a volley of shots that hit Joseph seven times in the head, neck, leg, torso and lower back, the newspaper reported.

Police fired 125 rounds at Joseph’s vehicle, WTSP reported. The State Attorney’s Office said none of the officers were wearing body cameras, and none of the police cruisers were equipped with a dashboard camera, the television station reported.

The incident began when police pulled Joseph over at 11:30 p.m. April 28 to ask about a drive-by shooting that occurred five days earlier that involved a car that matched the description and license plate of the white Chevrolet Impala that Joseph was driving, the Times reported.

The April 28 encounter began when police pulled Joseph over to ask about a drive-by shooting five days earlier involving a car that matched the description and license plate of his white Chevrolet Impala, the state attorney’s report said.

The Tampa Police Department forwarded its report to the State Attorney’s Office on May 7.

In its six-page report released Thursday, the State Attorney’s Office said the officers were justified in shooting Joseph because they feared for their lives and the lives of others, the Times reported.

“After our thorough analysis, we have determined that the facts and evidence of this incident prove that the law enforcement officers justifiably believed they were in imminent fear for their lives and their fellow officers’ lives,” the statement reads.

The Tampa Police Department also released a statement that agreed the shooting was “justified.”

“The last thing officers want to do is use deadly force. Regardless of the circumstances, we acknowledge the grief of the family and community,” Tampa police Chief Brian Dugan said in the statement. “Since the shooting, our department has been fully cooperative with the independent investigation of the SAO. In this case, it is clear our officers were forced into responding to the threat of the imminent danger they faced.

Black Lives Matter Tampa held a news conference outside of Tampa Police headquarters Thursday and accused the State Attorney’s Office of changing “their entire story” since April.

“The stories have changed so much that it’s becoming confusing to test the credibility of law enforcement, especially the Tampa Police Department,” said Pastor Carl Soto, a family spokesperson.

“This is official murder, they murdered Jonas Joseph,” Soto said. “They (the police) came up with a false story.”

“We’re being asked to believe the lack of evidence ... the inadequate body of evidence,” BLM Tampa co-founder Donna Davis told WTSP.