Justice Department ends probe into police beating of man during traffic stop in Florida
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Officials say the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its review of the case of a drug suspect who was repeatedly punched, elbowed and kneed by police officers during a traffic stop in northeast Florida. A Friday letter from the department to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says the arrest of Le’Keian Woods does not give rise to a prosecutable violation of federal civil rights laws. Attorneys for Woods had asked for the federal investigation shortly after his Sept. 29 arrest. Mug shots taken after the arrest show him with both eyes swollen shut and bruises and cuts on his face. Sheriff T.K. Waters says his officers’ actions were justified because Woods appeared to resist arrest.