The former Miami Beach police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Virginia tourist outside a South Beach club in June 2009 was cleared by prosecutors Tuesday.
Officer Adam Tavss was justified in the shooting of 29-year-old Husien Shehada during a June 14, 2009, encounter outside Twist nightclub, Miami-Dade prosecutors said in a final report.
Tavss was responding to calls of armed men when he encountered Shehada and his brother, Samer, who had an empty beer bottle and wooden coat hanger to pretend they were carrying guns after a fight.
Police say the brothers had been out drinking when Samer Shehada got into a fight with his girlfriend, which turned into a fight with some passerbys.
Just four days after the Shehada shooting, Tavss was back on duty when he was involved in the shooting death of Lawrence McCoy, a suspected carjacker.
This past October, Tavss was given two years' probation and stripped of his police certification after he pleaded guilty to selling and trafficking marijuana.
Police reportedly found 47 pot plants in his home.
Former Miami Beach Cop Cleared in Shooting
Tavss justified in 2009 shooting of unarmed Virginia tourist
Copyright AP - Associated Press
