Federal prosecutors won't seek criminal charges against two Central Texas sheriff deputies involved in a stun gun shooting that left a 17-year-old student with a severe brain injury.
An official with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division sent a letter to the mother of Noe Nino de Rivera to inform her of the decision, the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV reported Monday.
A Bastrop County grand jury in May also didn't indict deputies Randy McMillan and Timothy Stalcup, who went to Cedar Creek High School last November to break up a fight. Authorities claim Nino de Rivera was a bystander who refused to disperse after the fight ended and was belligerent. Authorities say McMillan used a stun gun on him, causing the student to fall back onto his head.
The federal case had been the last investigation into the November 2013 incident.
"After careful consideration, we have concluded that the evidence does not establish a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes," wrote Robert J. Moossy Jr., a chief of the criminal section for the civil rights division. "We send our sincerest condolences for the trauma experienced by your son and your family, and wish your son a full recovery."
Nino De Rivera's family attorney Adam Loewy said he's disappointed by the prosecutors' decision.
"I think it was a criminal act," he said. "I think it was a clear use of excessive force."
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In August, the county settled a federal lawsuit for $775,000 with the family over medical bills. It admitted no fault as part of the settlement.
County officials and the family's attorney said Nino de Rivera's medical bills were more than $1 million. He spent several months in a rehabilitation center.
