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District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement that a special assistant district attorney had completed his investigation into the Feb. 7, 2020, shooting outside of Brigham and Women's Hospital and found that no charges are warranted against the two Boston police officers who responded.
“These cases are always difficult and always tragic, both for the families of the wounded or deceased and for the officers involved," Hayden said.
Boston police confronted Root outside Brigham and Women's Hospital just before 9:30 a.m. after someone called 911 to report a man with a gun. Root was armed, but officers did not know that it was a replica weapon that could not fire, the investigation files said.
Police opened fire on Root after a confrontation, but he jumped into his car after being wounded and led officers on a chase into Brookline, reports said. A hospital parking lot attendant was shot during the confrontation.
Root crashed in Chestnut Hill and tried to run away, but officers cornered him. Root then pulled out the fake gun again, and police shot and killed him, the report said. The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, which covers the Chestnut Hill area, already ruled that the officers' actions were warranted.
ADA John Dawley, who handled the investigation for the Suffolk DA's office, said in his finding that the Boston officers outside the hospital believed Root had a weapon and thought their lives were in danger when they fired.
"Based on the evidence, we conclude that neither of the involved officers' actions were objectively unreasonable," Dawley wrote in his report. "Accordingly, it is not appropriate to charge, and the investigation should be closed with prosecution."
Root's family, however, wants an independent investigation.
His sister told WBUR last week that she wants to see reforms in how police behave in these situations.
"I want to see an end to qualified immunity; fatal shootings by police be independently investigated," Jennifer Root Bannon told the radio station. "I want to see more community-based policing. I also think it's helpful for them to have more crisis intervention training."
The Suffolk County prosecutor's office released Dawley's investigation files. Click here to read them.
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