Delaware DOJ report clears officers of criminal wrongdoing in Lymond Moses' shooting death

A report from the Delaware Department of Justice has cleared officers of criminal wrongdoing in the January 2021 shooting death of Lymond Moses.

WILMINGTON, Del. - After an ‘extraordinary and exhaustive’ use of force investigation, authorities in Delaware have cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing in the Jan. 2021 shooting death of Lymond Moses.

The deadly encounter occurred shortly after 1 a.m. back on January 13, when officers responded to a call for a suspicious vehicle on Rosemont Avenue and East 24th Street in Wilmington.

Responding officers approached the vehicle and authorities say they found Lymond Moses. 30, behind the wheel. They say Moses appeared to be sleeping and the car’s engine was running.

In previously released body camera video of the initial stop, officers can be heard telling Moses that the car was in drive as he slept.

"We are making sure you're alright," one of the officers can be heard saying.

Moses responds by saying his mom lives nearby.

The Delaware Department of Justice report says the officers noticed that Moses was in possession of marijuana, and pointed it out to Moses while explaining that they were not interested in pursuing the misdemeanor offense.

From there, authorities say the situation escalated quickly as Moses refused to comply with the officers’ commands to step out of the vehicle.

Moses then drove off in his vehicle, and officers pursued him a short distance until they ended up on a dead-end street.

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Body camera video showed Moses turning his car around, before driving back toward the officers, who had gotten out of their vehicles following the brief pursuit.

"Don't [expletive] do it, don't do it," the officers shout, as Moses accelerates in an apparent attempt to get around the officers.

At that time, multiple officers open fire, striking Moses' vehicle several times as he slams into the front of a police SUV.

Moses later succumbed to his injuries.

A report released by the Delaware Department of Justice on Monday ‘concluded that the laws in place at the time of the shooting would not support a reasonable likelihood of conviction against any of the officers involved in this incident.’

Lymond Moses (Family photo )

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings says the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust made the same recommendation and that she agreed with the conclusion.

An independent law that contributed to the report called the circumstances surrounding the incident ‘concerning’ and said they demanded consideration of how the officers were trained.

"The circumstances around this particular incident, however, are concerning and demand consideration of how these officers were trained and, notwithstanding any potential violations of criminal law, if there were deficiencies in the New Castle County Police Department’s policies and training that should be corrected in light of the shooting of Mr. Moses to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future," read the report.

"The events of January 13, 2021, and the death of Mr. Moses raise broader questions regarding police use of force tactics in Delaware, specifically what force can and should be used against moving vehicles," the report continued.

Members of Moses’ family addressed the report and its findings during a press conference on Tuesday morning.

An attorney representing the family has previously accused authorities of creating a ‘false narrative’ that Moses was attempting to get away.

The video refutes that. Lymond Moses was simply trying to get away," attorney Emeka Igwe said following the release of the body camera video. "In fact, he actually veered away from the officers in an attempt not to hit them."

Igwe and the family have also previously called on President Joe Biden to help in the case should the Attorney General’s Office decline to prosecute the officers involved.