A former Arkansas sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed an unarmed 17-year-old during a traffic stop was sentenced to one year in jail for his misdemeanor charge.
Michael Davis was found guilty of negligent homicide Friday in the death of Hunter Brittain, a teen who was having car trouble before he died June 23 last year.
The 17-year-old was allegedly reaching for anti-freeze when Davis shot him.
Hunter was working on his car’s transmission before he took it for a test drive around 3 a.m. the day of the incident. During his trial, Davis also testified that he saw Hunter’s truck smoking and stopped with its’ reverse lights on. He then ran the tags and called an officer for back up, fearing the car was stolen.
When Davis went to pull Hunter over in an auto shop’s parking lot, Hunter began digging in the back of his truck. Davis testified that he thought Hunter was going to kill him. Prosecutors, however, argued that Hunter was trying to grab a jug of coolant to put behind his wheels so his car wouldn’t roll.
Prosecutors said Davis hadn’t issued any commands before shooting Hunter, though Davis maintained he told Hunter to get back in the car, to stop moving, and show his hands.
Davis was fired from the department last year for not turning his body camera on at the beginning of the traffic stop.
