The 13-year-old OH boy who was fatally shot by a policeman investigating a reported armed robbery had a real-looking BB gun and ran from police, said a friend who was with him. He said he had run away with Tyre and was with him when the shooting occurred.
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The case began when witnesses reported people had robbed a man of $10 at gunpoint Wednesday.
Attorney Chanda Brown, who represents the boy’s family, said “the family is obviously distraught by the murder of Tyre”.
He said he’s looking for people with information in the case to come forward.
We just have many different witness accounts that are contradictory to the police officers version of events, Walton said. “What is now out there might not be true”.
According to WCMH-TV, Columbus police arrested 19-year-old Demetrius Emanuel Lee Braxton on a felony count of robbery. While Mason stated that he shot at the 13-year-old after he looked to be pulling a gun Braxton says that the police had ordered him and the other boy to get down after they had run off. He said they did, but then Tyre got up and ran and was shot.
The actions described by police, who say he ran away and pulled out a realistic-looking BB gun, “are out of his normal character”, the attorneys said.
Columbus police have refused to comment on how that compares with police accounts of what happened.
The fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old Columbus boy who officers said pulled a BB gun from his waistband that looked like a real weapon will be investigated thoroughly to determine if charges are warranted.
The police chased the pair into an alley and tried to take them into custody.
The mayor said police in the OH state capital, who have no video footage of the fatal shooting, are expected to begin equipping their officers with body cameras early next year, a step other big-city departments have implemented to provide “additional oversight and accountability”.
Evidence from Wednesday’s shooting will automatically be presented to a grand jury.
The coroner, Dr. Anahi Ortiz, said Friday that Tyre’s autopsy was complete but she wouldn’t yet release details, including where he was shot. Authorities say officers investigating the report spotted several males who matched the description of the suspects and tried to talk to them.
On Thursday night, dozens attended a vigil near the shooting site, including members of Tyre’s youth football team. Investigators believe those individuals may have information that will help piece together the events prior to the shooting of Tyre King.
Friday morning, a candle burned next to a bouquet of white flowers in the alley where the boy was shot.
This is the second time in as many years OH has been rocked by the death of a black child killed by a white officer who mistook a toy for a deadly threat. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said police found what he called a “rambling” note at the scene of the Friday overnight rampage that police believe was written by the gunman and that expressed hatred toward law enforcement and named a probation officer.
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“He is, you know, not happy about having to be in that situation, but at the end of the day he had to do what he had to do”, Pappas said.
