Five Lawmakers Call on U.S. to Investigate Florida Stand Your Ground Case

Five Democratic members of Congress called Friday for the Justice Department to investigate a case in which a Florida man who shot and killed another man during an argument over a parking space was not arrested or charged by the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff of Pinellas County cited Florida’s Stand Your Ground law in declining to charge Michael Drejka, who the authorities say shot Markeis McGlockton last week in the parking lot outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Florida.

Drejka initiated a heated argument with McGlockton’s girlfriend on July 19, over whether she was permitted to park in a handicapped parking space, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County said at a news conference the next day. Drejka, who is white, eventually shot and killed McGlockton, who was black, reigniting debate over the Florida law.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions Friday, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into the killing of McGlockton. Sens. Kamala D. Harris, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., also signed onto the letter, as did two Florida members of the House of Representatives, Charlie Crist and Alcee L. Hastings, both Democrats.

“I applaud them for showing responsible leadership,” Benjamin L. Crump, a lawyer representing McGlockton’s family, said of the politicians. “We should not be encouraging people to try to take the law into their own hands, start a confrontation and then kill an unarmed black man.”

Britany Jacobs, 25, was waiting in a car parked in a handicapped space while her boyfriend, McGlockton, and their 5-year-old son shopped in the Circle A Food Store, according to Gualtieri. He said that after Drejka, 47, began arguing with Jacobs over whether she had the proper permits to be in that space, McGlockton, 28, left the store and went up to Drejka.

In a video recorded by a surveillance camera, McGlockton is seen shoving Drejka and then appears to take a few steps back and start to turn away. Drejka then pulls out a gun and shoots him once. McGlockton was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Gualtieri said at the news conference on July 20 that his office had declined to file charges because of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which removes the obligation to retreat if a person feels threatened. The law frees a person to use deadly force “if he or she reasonably believes” it is necessary “to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.”

Drejka could not be reached for comment by phone Friday, and the Sheriff’s Office said it did not know whether he had retained an attorney.

Crump, a civil rights lawyer based in a Tallahassee, Florida, said in a phone interview that he did not believe this is a valid Stand Your Ground case because McGlockton started to retreat before he was shot.

Crump has urged the state attorney for Pinellas County, Bernie McCabe, to file charges against Drejka, who they believe had no objective reason to fear for his life. Crump said Jacobs’ 3-year-old and 4-month-old children were in the car when McGlockton was shot.

Earlier in the week, Crump called on Florida legislators to amend the law, which was enacted in 2005 with backing from the National Rifle Association.

Crump has represented the families of a number of young black people whose fatal shootings caused national outrage, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice.

The Stand Your Ground law became a hotly debated national issue after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 fatal shooting of Martin, 17, outside Orlando, Florida.

In last week’s news conference, Gualtieri said Drejka, who had a concealed carry permit, told officers that after he was pushed to the ground he was afraid McGlockton would strike him again.

Gualtieri suggested that his hands were tied because his department could be sued if it failed to follow the law’s requirements.

Jackie McGuinness, a spokeswoman for Nelson, said his office had not yet heard back from the Justice Department about the senators’ request. The Justice Department declined to comment Friday.

Prosecutors’ decision to charge or not charge Drejka will likely turn on whether they believe they can meet the burden of proof in showing that the Stand Your Ground law does not apply to the case, Marvin Lim, a lawyer who focuses on cases involving Stand Your Ground laws, said in an interview last week.

Last year, the Florida Legislature shifted this burden of proof from the defense to prosecutors, making it easier for defendants to use to law to their benefit.