Justice Department says Billey Joe Johnson Shot Himself - Investigation of Sheriff's Office Closed

From [HERE] The Justice Department announced Friday that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against a George County Sheriff's Office deputy in the fatal shooting of Billey Joe Johnson Jr.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the FBI met Friday with the Johnson family to inform them of this decision.

On the morning of December 8, 2008, the deputy pulled Johnson over for minor traffic violations. Less than two minutes after he was stopped, a gun was fired. Four eyewitnesses state that the deputy was in his patrol car, with the door shut, when the shot was fired. In addition, both the state coroner and independent federal medical experts have concluded that Johnson shot himself.

Johnson's death has inflamed suspicion, with his family and the NAACP previously rejecting any notion that the black teen committed suicide.

"The evidence indicates that less than two minutes after Mr. Johnson was pulled over, a gun was fired," the news stated. "Four eyewitnesses state that the deputy was in his patrol car, with the door shut, when the shot was fired. In addition, both the state coroner and independent federal medical experts have concluded that Mr. Johnson shot himself."