Prosecutors admit there's no evidence black man accused of shooting at cop even had a gun

A Louisiana man accused of shooting a police officer during a chase didn't even have a weapon on him, the Advocate reports.

On Tuesday, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III admitted there was no evidence that 21-year-old Raheem Howard had a gun on him, much less that he had fired it at a police officer. Howard was originally facing attempted murder charges and a possible 50 year prison sentence after the cop accused him of firing a gun at him.

“At this point, I didn’t think there was sufficient evidence,” Moore said. “That doesn’t mean there will be no charges stemming from this case.”

The officer fired his weapon at Howard after he pulled him over for not having a license plate. Howard ran, and the officer discharged his weapon, but claimed that Howard had shot first. Witnesses only heard one shot.

Although the more serious charges have been dropped, Howard is still in jail on unrelated bench warrants.