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Mississippi officer, Kevin Herrington will not face charges in the death of Jonathan Sanders. In July 2015, Herrington and Sanders got into an altercation after the officer suspected the 39-year-old victim was involved in a drug transaction.

A grand jury was allowed the unique opportunity to hear from all of the witnesses of the incident as well as Sander’s mother, Frances Sanders who spoke to her son’s non-threatening character.

Even with the added transparency of the case, the key factor to the non-indictment was the autopsy report. According to the Clarion Ledger, Sanders’ sudden death was a result of “mechanical asphyxia associated with acute cocaine toxicity.” Sanders is said to have ingested a lethal dosage of cocaine that Herrington found on him during a search.

“This is evidenced by skin abrasions at the base of the neck, conjunctival petechiae and hemorrhage in the soft tissue of the neck associated with recent ingestion of cocaine,” read the report.

The victim attempted to flee the scene and got into a physical altercation with Herrington. It was initially reported that the officer said, “I’m gonna get that n****r,” before tackling him to the ground and subduing him. . The alleged witness of the racial slur did not stand by that comment during the grand jury testimony.

Herrington said that Sanders reached for his gun prompting him to place the victim in a chokehold, witnesses say for at least 20 minutes. The grand jury found that given the circumstances of the situation, the officer did not use excessive force and his actions were in line with police training.

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