No Charges Filed In Police Killing Of Hakim Littleton: Prosecutor

DETROIT — Charges will not be filed against Detroit police officers involved in the July 2020 shooting of Hakim Littleton, a 20-year-old man who was killed by police after he'd reportedly pulled a gun and shot at them twice.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Wednesday held a news conference with reporters where she said charges would not be filed against city of Detroit police officers who shot and killed Littleton in July 2020 while trying to arrest someone else on a narcotics warrant.

"I am never going to charge people unless we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt in court, following the facts and the evidence, and in this case, this is not a chargeable case," Worthy said Wednesday. "This is a self-defense (case)."

Littleton was shot to death on July 10, 2020, after officers from the Detroit Police Department were surveilling gang activity in the area of San Juan and McNichols after eight people were shot following a fight at a large block party around the Fourth of July.

Police had information the July 5 shooting involved a local gang and sought to arrest a man with suspected gang ties on a warrant for drug distribution, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Video of the shooting seemed to corroborate stories provided by Detroit police officers following the shooting, according to reports from The Detroit News.

The video, released by Chief James Craig of the Detroit Police Department following threats of violence and protests amid claims of police brutality, was recorded by an officer's body camera and appears to show Littleton pull a gun and fire two shots.

Worthy showed three videos on Wednesday. In the video, after Littleton shot at officers, one officer charged him while other officers opened fire.

An autopsy report ruled that Littleton died from four gunshot wounds, according to Worthy. An autopsy also reported that Littleton had marijuana and alcohol in his system at the time of his death, The Detroit News reported.

The shooting, just two months after Geoge Floyd was killed while in police custody, causing mass protests of racial injustice and police brutality, prompted its own protests. Members of Littleton's family and other groups wanted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate the shooting, according to Michigan Radio.

Worthy said much of what spread on social media surrounded the gun that Littleton held. Claims surfaced that police kicked Littleton's gun from his hands and continued shooting him, Worthy said, countering that officers kicked his gun away after he'd been shot and as they approached his body.

Video of the shooting corroborated Worthy's statements.

"It is not unusual for there to be misinformation in different cases that we're doing, this case though there was just so much misinformation about what occurred," Worthy said. "We wanted to make sure that we took our time."

Craig said following Wednesday's news conferences that he hopes being transparent about the shooting helps stop the spread of misinformation.

"God knows what would have happened had we not gotten out a video within hours of the shooting incident," he said. "We refuted the false narrative."

Worthy said she has tried to be transparent with how her office has investigated the officer-involved shooting in part because of the unrest caused by police killings of unarmed Black people.

"We want to be as transparent as possible," Worthy said. "And people may always disagree, but again, the facts and evidence are on our side."