Detroit
Police fire 38 shots in three seconds at mentally ill 20-year-old
Detroit Police Chief James White tried to defend officers’ behavior at a news conference (stock image)
© Getty Images
He had a knife, they had guns: In Detroit, police officers shot a 20-year-old man who was mentally ill. 38 shots hit the man in just three seconds. The family lawyer speaks of an execution.
The video, presented by the Detroit Police Department’s chief of police at a press conference, lasted only a few minutes. They showed the police action that took Porter B.’s life. The 20-year-old black man’s big brother called 911 around 5 a.m. Sunday morning, according to his family, after slashing the tires of his car with a knife. “He was concerned for his safety as well as for the safety of local residents,” said Police Commissioner James White.
In the video, the young man who was diagnosed with schizophrenia is a few meters away from the police officers. For four minutes, the officials are said to have followed the training protocol and tried to calm B. down and get him to drop the knife. “We’re here to help you, Porter, okay,” an officer with the crisis intervention team said. “We just want to help you. Your brother is worried about you, I’m worried about you. You’re not in trouble. Can you just talk to me and drop the knife?”
Police operation in Detroit ends in death for mentally ill black people
Then you can hear on the recordings how the officers ask him not to approach the officers and put the knife away. B. replied, “No, I don’t,” minutes before sprinting towards the officers. The first shots can be heard, then the video stops. Five officers drew their guns and fired 35 shots at the young man in three seconds.
“The officer feared for his safety and the other officers feared for their partner’s safety and fired their guns,” White defended her actions. “Despite this horrific act, officers were able to quickly switch into a first aid mode and began administering first aid. Officers would then have taken him to a local hospital where he was then pronounced dead. In According to a statement, police said one of the officers in the back seat of the patrol car gave him chest compressions all the way to the hospital.
According to the police, Porter B. had attacked three family members with a knife in the past three years, including his seven-year-old stepsister. Eventually he was committed to a psychiatric institution, from which he later broke out. It took four officers to take him into custody and multiple taser calls during that escape.
Meanwhile, the family’s lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, expressed his dismay at the actions of the police. “If the training consists of shooting clearly mentally ill young men or women, then this training is grossly inadequate, deficient and nonsensical,” Fieger said. “You don’t shoot people who are suffering from psychotic attacks of schizophrenia.” He accused the police chief of wanting to cover up the incident: “You have all kinds of equipment. You said you turned off all vehicles. If you were afraid of a 7-centimetre knife, you could roll up your vehicle’s windows and shut them drive over to him. Take one of the armored vehicles you use for bomb disposal. They can’t take a three-inch knife. What about all the body armor the police have? They’ve got helmets. They’ve got armor and breastplates. “They have bulletproof vests everywhere. Are you telling me that today you don’t have the equipment to put a police officer on someone with a knife and instead have to execute them from 13 meters away? That’s just plain absurd.”
A statement regarding the Oct. 2, 2022, officer-involved shooting and pending litigation: pic.twitter.com/tovsMgknAN — Detroit Police News (@detroitpolice) October 6, 2022
” vendor-id=”5e71760b69966540e4554f01″ vendor-name=”Twitter”/>
Fieger also blamed Michigan’s lack of long-term mental health hospitals, which he says leads to police and prisons being responsible for dealing with people in mental health crises. He filed charges against the police officers on behalf of the family.
Porter B.’s family called for a protest march on Friday, with family and friends of the 20-year-old taking to the streets. The crowd chanted, “Police brutality must stop, fire and arrest these killer cops”.
As reported by CNN, among others, the Michigan State Police have opened an investigation into the case to investigate the case. Meanwhile, the Detroit Police Department is conducting an administrative investigation.
Watch the video: A 47-year-old dies in Mannheim after the police arrested him by force. The scenes of the arrest of the mentally ill shock. Now new footage has surfaced that explains what happened.
Sources: NBC News, Detroit Police Department, CNN, Fox News, “Washington Post”