DETROIT – The police who fatally shot Hakim Littleton during an arrest last summer will not be charged because the victim opened fire on an officer first, justifying the response by law enforcement, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced on Wednesday.
"The officers in this case acted with lawful self defense, there will be no charges," Worthy said.
Her decision comes almost exactly nine months after the officer-related death, during which police opened fire on Littleton near Jan Juan and McNichols after he pulled a gun out of his pocket, pointed it at the head of an officer and opened fire — which was captured on video.
According to Chief James Craig, the incident happened while officers were going to arrest another individual with alleged ties to a block party shooting when they came upon Littleton, who pulled out a gun as he stood on a sidewalk.
After the shooting, Mayhem quickly followed in the west-side neighborhood as more than 100 protesters took to the streets, shouting at police in riot gear, throwing bottles and bricks, and demanding justice for what they believed was another case of police brutality against a Black man.
Worthy concluded that's not what happened.
"There has been an enormous amount of misinformation that has been generated on social media about the true facts of this case," Worthy said at Wednesday's press conference, during which she replayed video of the shooting, and offered witness testimony.
She repeated twice the following acts of Littleton when he sees police arresting another man:
"At this point, Mr Littleton points his gun directly at officer A’s head and fires two shots," Worthy said, adding all the officers were in "danger" that day.
Seven hours after the July 10, 2020 shooting, Craig released bodycam and dashcam footage of the incident, which showed the following:
The video opens with scout cars near a curb. An individual in a white T-shirt is on a sidewalk and puts his hands up. That's Darnelle Sylvester, who was wanted on a felony drug warrant by the DEA. He shows no resistance as he is placed in handcuffs.
Nearby a man in an orange T-shirt, who police identified as Littleton, walks by, stops and pulls out a gun. He raises the gun in his left hand, fires twice at a nearby officer, then starts to run. He is pursued by that nearest officer, who does not return fire.
Three other officers at the scene fire at Littleton, who falls to the ground, and is quickly held there by an officer.
As Littleton fell to the ground, Craig said, he fired two more shots.
Craig and Mayor Mike Duggan have both held that the shooting was justified.
"The video is clear that the officer was suddenly and unexpectedly fired upon. I commend Chief Craig for moving so quickly to release the video publicly," Duggan said last summer.
According to court records and Craig, on the night of the shooting, Littleton was out on probation stemming from a 2017 unarmed robbery and felony firearm conviction Court records show he was initially charged with armed robbery, but cut a deal in the case and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge that got him three years probation. He was scheduled to be released from probation this year.
Craig said he wanted to get the video out as quickly as he could to "set the record straight."
"It's important to get the facts right," Craig previously said. "It's always tragic when a police officer has to use force."
Craig said social media posters had dramatically misled the public, causing him to release the videos quickly to quell rumors.
Within hours of the shooting, Craig said, numerous protesters converged on the scene of Littleton’s shooting, “saying he was unarmed, saying he was executed, saying he was shot 16 times. That was all so untrue ... I know we’re in a very difficult time, here and across the country."
But, Craig stressed: "We needed to get the facts out.”
According to Craig, police explained to Littleton's family what happened and that they accepted it. "They weren't happy," Craig said, "but they believed what we said, and I greatly appreciate that."
Protesters, meanwhile, didn't buy it and for months have discounted Craig's statements, counting Littleton among the Black people disproportionately killed by police in the U.S., the names they’ve been chanting for months amid protests following the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis.
“Say his name,” the crowd yelled last summer, before responding to their own demand: “Hakim Littleton.”
Worthy said she understands that people may be upset and saddened about incidents such as this, but stressed that her office bases its decisions only on facts.
And that's what happened in the Littleton case, she said.
"We go by the facts and evidence, no matter where it leads. Even if it’s unpopular, or even if people are saddened by it, and that’s what we have to do," Worthy said. There are going to be people who are unhappy … but we have to direct our work solely on the facts of the case.
