DETROIT (AP/WXMI) — A defense attorney says authorities "dropped the ball" while investigating the fatal shooting of a Detroit college police officer, which led to charges being filed and dropped against her client.
Nicole James says in a statement that police and prosecutors rushed to judgment when they arrested and charged DeAngelo Davis with murder in the Nov. 22 death of Wayne State University officer Collin Rose. Prosecutors dropped those charges on Wednesday.
James says Rose's death was "a tragic loss," but she added it's "also wrong" that police arrested Davis without evidence.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy didn't say why authorities no longer consider Davis a suspect. She didn't take questions from reporters during a news conference.
However, a source told FOX 2in Detroit that Davis was caught on camera at a different location during the time of the shooting, and that the footage is in police custody. Neighbors also said he had a leg injury which would prevent him from riding a bike. During the three-hour manhunt for the shooting suspect back in November, police had said the gunman was on a bicycle.
Davis was released from custody around 7p.m. on Wednesday.
Rose, who was 29-years-old, passed away on Nov. 23. He was originally from the Kalamazoo area and had been engaged to get married. He was promoted to sergeant after his death.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family with final expenses.
A reward of $15,000 is now being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case.
