By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A Jefferson County, Alabama, grand jury declined to charge a Birmingham police officer in the Aug. 13 fatal shooting of Matthew Sean Massey, 38, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr announced Thursday.
- Police say the shooting occurred after Massey ran from an officer who tried to detain him over a reported assault at a Southside McDonald’s and then tried to take control of the officer’s Taser.
- The encounter ended in a parking deck near the North Tower of UAB St. Vincent’s hospital, where Massey was pronounced dead at 12:51 p.m.
- The Birmingham Police Department led the investigation before the district attorney presented the case to the grand jury.
- The officer, a seven-year department veteran, has not been publicly identified.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Jefferson County grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against a Birmingham police officer who fatally shot a 38-year-old man in August in a hospital parking deck, District Attorney Danny Carr said Thursday, according to al.com.
Carr said the grand jury concluded after reviewing all the evidence that charges were not warranted and that the officer’s actions were justified under the facts and the law. The Birmingham Police Department led the investigation, and Carr’s office decided to present the case to the grand jury to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
The shooting of Matthew Sean Massey occurred Aug. 13. Police Chief Michael Pickett said at the time that a security guard flagged down an officer around 12:35 p.m. and reported that a man had assaulted an employee at a McDonald’s in the Southside area. The officer saw Massey, who had run across University Boulevard, and tried to detain him. Pickett said Massey did not comply, and a foot pursuit followed into a parking deck near the North Tower of UAB St. Vincent’s hospital.
Pickett said the officer ordered Massey to stop in the parking deck and, when he did not comply, deployed his Taser. Pickett said Massey then tried to gain control of the Taser, and the officer shot him. Emergency personnel responded and gave aid, and Massey was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:51 p.m. The officer is a seven-year veteran of the department, and his name was not released.
Massey was originally from Pensacola, Fla., according to his obituary, which described him as a loving and generous man who cared deeply for his family and friends.