Death of Corey Stingley ruled homicide

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the death of Corey Stingley a homicide. This announcement comes days after the district attorney's office decided not to press charges against the three men who held down Stingley in a convenience store.

In December 2012, 16-year-old Corey Stingley entered a West Allis convenience store with the intent to steal alcohol. When he attempted to flee the store, three adult males restrained him until police arrived. By the time police arrived, Stingley had no pulse. He was later pronounced dead at Froedtert Hospital on December 29th.

This ruling from the medical examiner's office comes six days after the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office announced they would not press charges against the three men who restrained Corey Stingley in December 2012. The medical examiner's office says Stingley's cause of death is anoxic encephalopathy due to asphyxia, meaning the teen's brain didn't get enough oxygen. 

The ruling by the medical examiner's office does not change or overrule the decision made by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. A medical homicide and legal homicide are not the same thing.

In their release, the district attorney's office says the men had to be aware that they were causing great bodily harm to Stingley for criminal misconduct charges to be issued. The district attorney's office says the three men facing possible charges had no formal training in proper restraint. The release says the men were \"acting in the belief that they were assisting in stopping a crime\". The district attorney's office concluded they did not have enough evidence to prove the three men were guilty of criminal misconduct.

The district attorney's office examined whether the three men that held down Stingley could be charged with homicide or criminally reckless conduct.  The district attorney's office concluded that none of the three men in this case intended to kill Stingley, thus ruling out the possibility of homicide charges.

Since the announcement by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office, several members of Milwaukee's African American community are calling for a federal investigation.