No indictment for Houston officer who shot Jordan Baker

HOUSTON - A Harris County grand jury has declined to indict a Houston police officer in the January fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

The panel returned its decision Tuesday in the case of Officer Juventino Castro. The 10-year police veteran shot and killed 26-year-old Jordan Baker while working an extra security job Jan. 16 at a strip mall where there had reportedly been recent break-ins.

According to CBS affiliate KHOU the Houston Police Department said Baker was looking in windows when Castro approached.

Baker, a college student, struggled, ran away, and then allegedly put his hands in his waistband and charged toward Officer Castro, according to the station. That's when Castro shot and killed him.

Baker was later determined to be unarmed.

The decision in Houston comes amid unrest following similar grand jury outcomes in the recent officer-involved deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City.

Baker's mother, Janet, contended Officer Castro wrongly profiled her son as a criminal wearing a black hoodie. She's been backed by activists staging rallies about the case.

According to the Houston Chronicle, attorney Sadiyah Evangelista said she plans to file a federal complaint on behalf of the family.