Teen’s family accuses prosecutors of delaying police-shooting probe

Federal investigators have been looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of DeOnte Rawlings since September, when the teenager was killed in a confrontation with two off-duty D.C. police officers who were looking for a stolen minibike.

Gregory L. Lattimer, the lawyer who filed a $100 million wrongful-death suit on behalf of DeOnte’s family, said federal prosecutors have no intention of charging the officers and are simply waiting for the public outcry to die down to announce their decision.

“Nothing else can explain the deafening silence,” Lattimer said. “They have basically told the family that their child’s life is meaningless. Your child is not even worth an explanation.”

The family is particularly frustrated by Fenty, who promised them in September that the investigation was going to be swift, open and honest, Lattimer said. But his administration has fought in court to keep the family from learning what happened, he said.

A Fenty spokeswoman referred all questions to the federal prosecutors.

Channing Phillips, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., said there has been no undue delay and the exhaustive investigation was near completion.

The office has conducted every possible forensic test and is tracking down every potential witness who is willing to talk, he said.

“ We have left no stone unturned,” Phillips said.

The city could release important information that it has held from the beginning, Lattimer said. That includes where the shell casings were found, how many shots were fired, what kind of gun the officers were carrying, and where the officers went after the shootings, Lattimer said.

He also questioned why the officers didn’t secure the scene, what kind of bullet struck the officer’s private vehicle, why the officers drove from the scene, and what witnesses were identified immediately. “They knew all that in the first 24 hours,” he said.

smccabe@dcexaminer.com