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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

6 officers cleared in mentally ill man’s shooting

Associated Press

SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) — Michigan authorities said Wednesday that they have cleared six Saginaw police officers in the fatal shooting of a homeless, mentally ill man in a parking lot.

Saginaw County Prosecutor Michael D. Thomas joined state officials at a Saginaw news conference to announce the findings.

Milton Hall, 49, was shot multiple times July 1. Saginaw police said he was wielding a knife and made aggressive movements toward officers.

Thomas said in a statement that an extensive investigation “did not yield enough evidence supporting the filing of criminal charges against the officers involved.”

“It is the decision of the prosecutor’s office that we do not believe that the arresting officers are chargeable for their actions,” Thomas said.

Some national black leaders have been pressing Saginaw authorities to take stronger action. The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have come to Michigan have pressed for investigations and discipline against the officers.

Milton’s mother, Jewel Hall, said she was “disappointed in the prosecutor’s report finding that the actions of the six Saginaw police officers who so brutally shot and killed my son, Milton Hall, were justified,” according to a statement a lawyer for the Rio Rancho, N.M., woman released to MLive.com.

“We will continue to seek justice for Milton,” she said.