In the absence of what Santiago Drew’s parents see as reliable information, they can do little more than speculate. Their son was Black. The neighbor is white. Did race play a role here? They’ve also been told that the neighbor who shot Santiago Drew is related to a politically connected family in New Jersey. Was that a factor? And if Santiago Drew was killed by a bullet to the back, as the medical examiner’s report indicated, how could his shooting be considered self-defense?

This is not “playing the race card”. It’s is perfectly valid to consider if race is a factor. All of these speculations are valid, particularly the last one. On the road, if you rear-end someone, you’re at fault period dot end of story as far as the law and insurance is concerned, because (almost) no matter what else was happening you should have been following at a distance and speed that would allow you to react to a sudden stop ahead.

To shoot someone in the back you have to be behind them (unless you’re Shia LeBeouf or Angelina Jolie, zing shitty movie reference), and if you’re behind them they’re not a threat in that moment. Extenuating circumstances apply of course but in this case there’s nowhere near enough evidence to prove that, so there’s no way in hell to justify closing the case and letting the other guy go.