No Charges Filed In Ulysses Wilkerson Case

No Charges Filed In Ulysses Wilkerson Case

The family of an Alabama teen is reeling after a grand jury made a damning decision. As previously reported Ulysses Wilkerson, 17, was beaten bloody by Troy Police department authorities and his parents demanded answers. Wilkerson reportedly fled from police during a foot-chase and police admitted to using “physical force to subdude the teen” on December 23 after Wilkerson reportedly reached for his waistband.

Now the four police officers who were investigated for their role in the encounter will not face criminal charges. AL.com reports that
Circuit 4 District Attorney Michael Jackson and retired Tuscaloosa District Attorney Tommy Smith were appointed as special prosecutors to handle the case, which was investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation.

Jackson told AL.com Thursday that a grand jury met this week in Pike County and declined to issue indictments against the Troy officers.

“The grand jury determined they acted properly in their official capacity and no crime was committed,” Jackson said. “If they had found differently, we would have gone forward with the case.”

This is extremely sad and unfortinately unsurpising. What makes it even more frustrating is that the NAACP was calling for the release of body cam footage that reportedly shows exactly what happened in this case.

It looks like we may never get to see it…