WASHINGTON -- The officer involved in the fatal shooting of Terrence Sterling has been terminated from D.C. police.
The announcement came on Friday that Officer Brian Trainer’s last day would be Friday, June 22.
In May, a police trial board recommended that Trainer be fired following an investigation into the shooting. Trainer appealed that recommendation, but on Friday, that Chief of Police issued a final decision: termination.
Sterling's family told WUSA9's Delia Goncalves that they were "pleased" with the decision.
"This decision, while it cannot bring Terrence back, brings a degree of closure to a lengthy and difficult process," they said.
In 2017, the U.S. attorney's office declined to bring charges against Trainer, citing "insufficient evidence,” in the controversial shooting of Sterling.
The shooting has been at the center of controversy, particularly since Sterling did not have a weapon on him.
According to the attorney's office, at approximately 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2016, Officer Brian Trainer and his partner, who was behind the wheel, were stopped at a light on U Street Northwest. Sterling pulled his motorcycle in front of their cruiser.
Sterling sped through the red light, the office reported.
Officers then chased Sterling through D.C. at high speeds. Witnesses said Sterling was driving his motorcycle at excessive and sometimes dangerous speeds--estimated at 100 mph or more, at times.
Officers say that upon blocking Sterling's vehicle, Sterling rammed his motorcycle into Trainer's door.
Officer Trainer reacted by shooting Sterling twice. The bullets hit the 31-year-old in the right side and neck. The gunfire happened about seven minutes after police first spotted Sterling. Sterling did not have a weapon on him.
At the hearing, Trainer's partner, Jordan Palmer testified the shooting was justified because Trainer was assaulted and that Sterling's motorcycle had posed an immediate threat.
