U.S. Attorney, FBI to investigate fatal Union City Officer Shooting of 19 Yr Old Black Teen

From [HERE] and [HERE] U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said that she, along with the FBI, with open their own investigation into the shooting death of Ariston Waiters after a grand jury cleared the officer who shot Waiters of any criminal wrongdoing.

Yates told CBS Atlanta News that Waiters' case is very important and deserves a thorough examination because the young man lost his life after an interaction with a police officer.

Supporters for Waiters said they were happy about Wednesday's announcement, including Robert Patillo, an attorney for the Rainbow Push Coalition, which is an organization that fights for social change.

"We believe that once all the facts come out and a full and thorough federal investigation takes place, we are hoping for a determination for our favor," Patillo said.

Ariston Waiters' mother, Freda Waiters, said Wednesday's announcement was more than her family expected.

"It gives me a lot of confidence," she said.

Last week, a grand jury rejected the claims made by the Waiters family that Union City police officer Luther Lewis committed a crime when he shot and killed Ariston Waiters in December.

Following the dismissal of the case, Lewis told CBS Atlanta News that the shooting was an accident.

"I did not get out of bed that morning to find Ariston Waiters and shoot him," Lewis said. "I did not come to work that day to change my life forever."

Union City police have long said that Waiters and Lewis got into fight over Lewis' gun, which lead to the shooting.

But the Waiters family remains steadfast in its claim that the shooting should be ruled a murder.

"It is our position that the grand jury got it wrong," said Marcus Coleman, president of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Action Network. "So again we are here because this is our last hope as far as justice for Ariston Waiters."

After everything that transpired, supporters left the U.S. Attorney's office cautiously optimistic that the case would be taken to trial, but said they were prepared for the same ruling, including Freda Waiters.

"Then I'll know that we did the best of our ability, according to the law," she said.