By Keith L. Alexander and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, May 2, 2008; B01

Federal prosecutors said yesterday that no criminal charges will be filed against two off-duty D.C. police officers involved in the fatal shooting of 14-year-old DeOnté Rawlings, saying they concluded that the youth fired the first shots.

The U.S. attorney's office and FBI based their findings on gunshot sensor technology, shell casings found at the scene and the accounts provided by police. The gun that DeOnté allegedly fired has yet to be found, authorities said.

Authorities spent months trying to reconstruct the chaotic events last Sept. 17 on a Southeast Washington street -- a sequence that began with two off-duty officers venturing out, on their own, to find a stolen minibike. They spotted DeOnté on what one officer said was his bike, confronted him, and the violence unfolded within just six seconds, including a running gun battle that ended with the youth's death, prosecutors said.

As many as 12 shots were fired, including three or four aimed toward police by DeOnté, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor said. The investigation found that the officers acted in self-defense, he said.

"What happened that night was a tragedy. A young life was needlessly taken," Taylor said. "But our judgment was there was no evidence of a crime. The officers had an actual and reasonable fear and the acts that they took were in response to that fear."

The case has been surrounded by controversy from the start. The D.C. medical examiner concluded that the youth was shot in back of the head. Neighborhood residents and policing experts raised questions about the officers' judgment and conduct, and DeOnté's family insisted that he never would carry a gun. Authorities did not attempt gunshot residue tests to help determine whether the youth fired a gun, saying they would have been inconclusive. The family filed a $100 million lawsuit against the city, which is pending in federal court.

"Everything is crooked. DeOnté never had a gun," the youth's father, Charles Rawlings, said. "They never found a gun. . . . It's all confusing. I don't accept it at all."

Officers James Haskel and Anthony Clay have been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. It is not immediately clear when they will be able to return to work. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said the department will launch an internal investigation to determine whether the officers broke internal rules.

Haskel did not return a call seeking comment, and attempts to reach Clay were unsuccessful. Kristopher Baumann, head of the labor committee of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the officers were relieved by the decision.

"It's not that they just won't be charged, but that they went through the evidence and found that the officers responded after someone tried to kill them," Baumann said. "Hopefully, they can start putting back their lives, but they'll never be the same."

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who angered many officers when he agreed to pay for DeOnté's funeral, issued a statement saying it was important that "all members of the community respect the legal process. Now that this process is complete, we will work to ensure that the community and our officers who put their lives on the line every day continue to heal together."

In making their announcement, authorities released their most complete account yet of the episode. Prosecutors, the FBI and D.C. police investigators reviewed evidence gathered at the scene, heavily canvassed the area for anyone who might have information, and interviewed 42 people.

According to federal investigators, the trouble began about 7:30 p.m. when Haskel and Clay, off duty and out of uniform, went out to find a minibike that Haskel said was stolen from his house. Riding in Haskel's sport-utility vehicle, they saw DeOnté astride it in the 600 block of Atlantic Street SE.

Police said the officers called out to DeOnté, and the youth allegedly opened fire before the officers had a chance to identify themselves. Prosecutors said evidence indicates that the youth fired two shots before Haskel fired back, using his 9mm police-issued weapon.

Haskel chased DeOnté on foot, and the shooting continued. At one point, Haskel was about 90 feet away from the youth, who was fleeing, prosecutors said. DeOnté turned around and fired again at Haskel, they said. Haskel fired back, hitting DeOnté in the back of the head. An autopsy found bruises on the youth's face, shoulder and back, which authorities attributed to his falling after he was shot.

Haskel was the only officer to fire; eight shell casings from his pistol were found at the scene.

"It was tragically bad luck that the officer was able to hit him from that distance," Taylor said.

Authorities said they do not know what happened to the gun that the youth allegedly had. The minibike turned up days later in Upper Marlboro.

Prosecutors said they relied heavily on data from gunshot sensors. The technology -- known as the ShotSpotter -- can distinguish the sounds made by different weapons and calculate approximate locations of where shots were fired. Authorities also found a bullet at the scene that had paint from Haskel's SUV, they said.

Taylor said witnesses told authorities that DeOnté had a gun, but he declined to say if these were the officers or others on the street.

He also disputed earlier accounts that the officers left the scene for a short while. He said the officer who fired the shots (Haskel) ran to an alley across from where the shooting took place in fear of his life as an angry crowd gathered, and the other officer (Clay) drove the SUV to the other side of the block.

Before announcing the decision, Taylor and FBI officials met with the Rawlings family. Prosecutors had previously urged the family to bring any evidence it uncovered to their attention. The meeting did little to appease the family or its lawyer, Gregory L. Lattimer.

"This is not surprising," Lattimer said. "The U.S. attorney's office doesn't prosecute police officers who shoot someone."

The most recent prosecutions against D.C. police officers in shooting cases were in 1992, with charges against two officers involved in domestic disputes, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of law and police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the "vast majority" of police shootings do not end in prosecutions. "They have broad leeway and extensive legal protection," he said.

DeOnté had just begun his freshman year at Ballou Senior High School. While juvenile records are sealed, police officials had said they never considered him a suspect in any major crimes. However, Charles Rawlings said his son had developed a tense relationship with local officers in the months before his death because he refused to help them with investigations, had been out after curfew and had begun skipping school.

Staff writer David Nakamura and researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.