JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The state attorney's office has ruled the shooting of a teenager by a police officer as justifiable.
According to the state attorney's office, Sgt. J.C. Nobles fired two shots as Kendre Alston, 16, stood up, and that Alston turned away as Nobles was firing.
The medical examiner report obtained indicates Alston was hit once in the back of the head.
De'Neane Campbell, mother of the victim, says she was not shocked at the findings, because she already knew her son was shot once in the back of the head. However, she is upset that the state attorney's office has ruled the officer's actions as justifiable.
"I don't care what background they pull up on him," Campbell said. "He would never point a gun at a police."
Alston had an arrest record that included burglary, grand theft, resisting an officer without violence and criminal mischief though his mother said that was never convicted of the burglary or resisting arrest charges and the remaining charges were dropped.
Now that the criminal investigation is over, the internal investigation by JSO's Response to Resistance Board (RTR) is underway; which can be expected to take months. The RTR will then review the findings to see if any policy or procedures were violated. The findings are then sent to the sheriff for the ultimate decision. The board or the sheriff can recommend a further review by Internal Affairs if they feel policy or procedures were violated and need to be investigated further.
"Everybody loved Kendre," Campbell said. "When we had his funeral, there were over 400 kids there. So you know everybody loves Kendre. He had to be a good person."
The last eight months have been hard for Campbell. She said it was March 19 when she got a frantic call from one of her sons, who said Alston was in the middle of a police chase.
"He was like, 'mom' and I was like, 'how do you know?'" Campbell said. "He said 'Kendre passed and the car almost hit us. Kendre rode past and he was in the backseat of the car.' So I was like, 'make sure your brother is okay' and he calls back and says, 'mom I hear gunshots.'"
Alston is one of two teenagers who ran from a stolen vehicle earlier this year after being pursued by Nobles. The second suspect is still on the loose.
Alston was driving a stolen car, according to JSO, and tried to ram a police cruiser while trying to exit a cemetery. After a pursuit, Alston crashed on a dirt road behind homes on Helena Street, in a neighborhood near the intersection of 45th Street and Moncrief Road.
Police said Alston and a passenger got out with guns in their hands, but the passenger dropped his weapon and ran in one direction. Officers said Alston kept his gun and ran in the other direction. Nobles fired twice while running after Alston, then twice more when Alston crouched down and turned in his direction.
Alston was taken to UF Health Jacksonville, where he died.
Police said the situation unfolded quickly. The time from the first call of the officer's car being rammed to the point when shots were fired was only about 1 minute, according to JSO.
Police have the weapon Alston brandished and another silver weapon that was thrown from the car during the chase in evidence.
The second suspect who was not captured at the scene is considered armed and dangerous. He was described as a young black man with dreadlocks pulled back in a ponytail, 6 feet tall and weighing between 160 and 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and khaki pants running northeast from the area.
The manhunt for the passenger included a helicopter, K-9 teams, officers on the ground with weapons out and door-to-door searches.
Anyone with any information about the wanted man is asked to call 911.
This was the first confirmed officer-involved shooting of 2015.