GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Greensboro police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Nasanto Crenshaw last year will not face charges, District Attorney Avery Crump said Thursday.

Crenshaw, who was from Raleigh, was driving a stolen car when he was stopped by Cpl. M.L. Sletten on Aug. 21, 2022, according to the district attorney. An investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation found Crenshaw drove toward the police officer before Sletten opened fire.

“After careful review, although tragic, the use of deadly force by Cpl. Sletten under these circumstances was justified by both the common law principles of self-defense and also by the statutory provisions,” Crump wrote in a letter, announcing his decision.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Greensboro police officer who shot and killed Nasanto Crenshaw will not face charges, the district attorney said Thursday

  •  Crenshaw was shot and killed Aug. 21, 2022, during a traffic stop

  •  The district attorney said Crenshaw was behind the wheel of a stolen car when he accelerated toward Cpl. M.L. Sletten before being shot

  • Crenshaw's family sued the Greensboro Police Department for wrongful death earlier this month

The Greensboro Police Department refused to identify the officer who shot Crenshaw. Police video has not been released, but the police department Thursday said it would ask a court to release video from the body camera and a camera in the police car.

The SBI said a handgun was found near the driver’s seat of the car, but the report does not say anyone took out the gun or pointed it at the officer.

According to the DA, Sletten pulled over a white Nissan Altima driven by Crenshaw on West Market Street. The car initially stopped, but then kept going after Sletten got out of his marked patrol car, the DA said.

Sletten then found the Nissan in the dead end of a parking lot, the DA said. Three people ran from the back seat of the car as Sletten pulled up to block in the Nissan, according to Crump.

“The driver of the Nissan backed the car up and turned hard to the right causing the front left of the Nissan to collide with the patrol car,” the DA wrote. This happened just as Sletten was getting out of the car, he said.

Crump said the officer can be heard on video yelling at the people in the car to stop and get on the ground.

“It is at that moment the Nissan began to accelerate toward Cpl. Sletten, whereupon he discharged his duty weapon three times striking the driver, Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw, three times,” the DA said.

There was another juvenile in the front seat of the car who was not injured, Crump said.

“Mere seconds elapsed from the moment Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw, having struck the patrol car of Cpl. Sletten, placed the Nissan in drive and began to accelerate forward toward where Cpl. Sletten stood before the officer fired his weapon,” Crump wrote.

“I will not be seeking charges related to the death of Nasanto Antonio Crenshaw,” he concluded.

Crenshaw’s family sued the Greensboro Police Department earlier this month, accusing the department of using excessive force and for wrongful death.