ORLANDO, Fla. — A Brevard County deputy will not face charges in the shooting death of two people during an incident in Cocoa last year. However, the family of one of the teenagers is now suing the deputy and the sheriff's office.

What You Need To Know

Phil Archer, the state attorney for the Florida 18th Circuit, which includes Brevard and Seminole counties, announced the decision Wednesday.

Archer said that his decision not to pursue criminal prosecution involving the use of deadly force by Brevard County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jafet Santiago-Miranda comes after “exhaustive inquiry” into findings of investigations by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, BCSO and the medical examiner.

An attorney for one of the families, however, is drafting a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office, and a wrongful death lawsuit against the deputy. Those suits will be filed Friday.

Natalie Jackson represents Cynthia Green, the foster mother of 18-year-old Sincere Pierce.

“There seems to be, at least in Phil Archer’s office, two justices. A justice for police officers and a justice for everyone else," Jackson said. “After seeing the George Floyd verdict and seeing the Floyd family get their justice, this family, of course, is devastated."

Pierce and 16-year-old Angelo Crooms, both of Cocoa, died after an incident involving police in Cocoa in November.

Archer's announcement said that while it “does nothing to lessen the horrific impact" on the families of the teens, his decision was made on "facts and evidence," including the high-risk nature of traffic stops, failure to comply with deputies’ commands, witness testimony and dash camera video.

“Even the tone of the letter, which went into villainizing the teenage boys who were dead, justifying the actions of the police officer," Jackson said.

The sheriff’s office released the dashcam video back in November, four days after the fatal shooting in Cocoa.

Deputies said they believed they had spotted a stolen car, which they say sped from a traffic stop. After shouting commands for the car, which was backing out of a driveway, allegedly toward a deputy, to stop, they began shooting. Pierce, Crooms and another person were inside.

Santiago-Miranda was placed on administrative leave. According to a post on BCSO's website, the deputy is now on personal leave.

Pierce's foster mother told Spectrum News back in November that Pierce was innocent.

“Even if the little boy did something wrong, doesn’t justify why my son is dead,” Green said at the time.

“The officer could’ve simply stepped aside and did not have to shoot into this vehicle," Jackson said Wednesday.

BCSO did not release a new statement on Archer’s decision, only a re-statement of facts and links to reports by State Attorney Archer and the redacted investigation by the sheriff's office.

Jackson, however, said the process of releasing these summaries of findings is flawed.

“That’s what happens in these cases," she said. "FDLE will give you a report of recorded statements. So, this is their interpretation. You never hear the recorded statement. That’s one of the problems in these police shooting cases and why it’s very hard for families to get justice."

Archer’s report on his decision also said that he is sending a letter to local law enforcement academies, requesting that institutions consider a review of tactical decisions made in the Cocoa case in order to determine if they, or the sheriff’s office, will make changes to training in the future.