HOUSTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A grand jury has rejected criminal charges for a Houston police officer who shot an unarmed black man while moonlighting as a security guard.
Jordan Baker's family said the decision released Tuesday is not the end of the case. His mother, Janet Baker, waited outside the Harris County County Criminal Justice Center for the ruling.
"I intend to seek justice for Jordan," she said. "We just have a lot of work to do."
Similar decisions by grand juries investigating the shooting of Michael Brown, 18, in Ferguson, Mo., and the chokehold death of Eric Garner, 42, in New York City have sparked national protests.
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In Houston, Officer Juventino Castro, who has been with the department for 10 years, faces an internal investigation of the shooting. The Baker family, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and others have called for a federal investigation.
Jordan Baker, 26, was shot in the parking lot of a strip mall near his home. Castro, who was in uniform, was working as a security guard at the mall, which had had recent robberies.
Baker ran away after Castro approached him but then allegedly stopped, turned and reached toward his waistband. The young man did not have a gun.
"Houston has an African-American population of 23.7 percent. However, as recently as 2012, African-Americans accounted for 48 percent of victims killed by the police. This cannot and must not continue. This case may be an incident involving racial profiling and the use of excessive force," Lee said. "I am therefore calling upon the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the killing of Jordan Baker and to take appropriate action, including convening a federal grand jury, to ensure that his civil and constitutional rights are vindicated."
A small group off protesters gathered at the courthouse Tuesday. Activists promised a larger demonstration next Monday.
Harris County Chief Prosecutor Julian Ramirez {link:said the investigation was thorough. : "http://www.khou.com/story/news/local/2014/12/23/baker-family-disappointed-in-grand-jurys-decision-plan-protest/20831543/" target="_blank"}
"We didn't just take Officer Castro's word for it. We considered information from as many sources as we had available," he told KHOU-TV.
