REPORT:
An 18-year-old male was walking with another male near a a convenience store that called to report a robbery. The two males reportedly “resembled the suspects” described by the individual that called dispatch to report the robbery. The two males were in a parking lot when the officer arrived. There was no body camera or dashboard camera recording at the time of the event, leaving only eyewitness accounts and a surveillance camera as the primary means of identifying the order of events. It was reported that the 18-year-old male had drawn a gun on the officer resulting in the officer also drawing his firearm and shooting. A total of three bullets were shot. One which struck the 18-year-old male, resulting in his death. Another was in the tire of the officers patrol vehicle, and the third bullet was unaccounted. It took six minutes for paramedics to arrive an pronounce the 18-year-old male dead upon their arrival.
INVESTIGATION:
Eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage confirmed the officer’s initial report that the 18-year-old male drew a weapon ahead of the officer. However, the 18-year-old male was shot in the back when the officer fired his weapon while the male was running away. The police department declined to provide the name of the officer involved due to almost immediate protests that began and became violent in the aftermath of the shooting. It was noted that the second male present was not found and did not come forward after these events transpired. The officer involved had been issued a body cam earlier in the day of the shooting but had not yet worn it at the time of the event. The involved officer did get placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
RESULTS:
Due to the privacy and confidentiality executed in this case, the only confirmed outcome is that the County Prosecutor was to conduct an independent review of the events leading to the fatal shooting of the 18-year-old male at the scene. It was never determined if the two males initially on the scene were involved in the reported robbery.
DISCLAIMER: The events described are actually the events that occurred resulting in the death of Antonio Martin. He was killed by an unknown officer who may or may not have faced consequences after fatally shooting an individual without reasonable suspicion to believe a crime was committed.
Comments