Prosecutor: No charges against Charlotte officer

CHARLOTTE — A prosecutor says a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer will not be charged in the death of a teenage grocery worker who died after being shocked with a Taser.

Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Marsha Goodenow told The Charlotte Observer on Monday that Officer Jerry Dawson Jr. was justified in using the Taser on Darryl Wayne Turner.

Goodenow says a video camera showed Turner throwing items at the store manager, then moving toward the police officer.

An autopsy showed Turner died from cardiac arrest. The report says the teen’s heart stopped pumping properly because of the Taser shot and the stress of the confrontation.

It’s not clear how many times Turner was shocked, although Goodenow says he was shocked more than once.

Turner family attorney Ken Harris said Monday he’s considering a lawsuit.

Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotte.com

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