A police advisory board found that no excessive force was used when officers subdued a double amputee with a neck hold that caused a fatal heart attack.
Police Chief Dennis Garrett accepted the board's recommendation Tuesday and said the officers won't be disciplined.But some black community leaders insisted there was wrongdoing in the death of Edward Mallet, who they contended was stopped only because he was a black man driving a fancy car.
Mallet, a 25-year-old anti-gang crusader who wore prosthetic legs below the knees, collapsed and died Aug. 27 after seven police officers used pepper spray and a neck hold to subdue him in a convenience store parking lot.
The Use of Force Review Board, which consists of five officers and two civilians, agreed unanimously after a closed hearing that the arresting officers' actions were within department policy and guidelines.
"It's a tragedy this happened, and I don't think anybody feels good about this, but they operated within our continuum of force," Garrett said.
But the Rev. Oscar Tillman, a black community leader, called the decision a whitewash and threatened civil disobedience such as sit-ins.