'Modern day lynching': Father hits out at cop who shot son after suspected fruit theft
Police body cam footage shows the fatal shooting of a New York man who was accused of stealing fruit, The New York Post reported.
The incident took place on July 3 when three officers in New Rochelle, New York, confronted Jarrell Garris, 37 at a grocery store and asked if he was "eating the food" inside the store.
As the video shows, Garris, who reportedly had mental health issues, began to fight with officers as they tried to handcuff him. At one point, Detective Steven Conn was heard in the video repeatedly saying, "Tase him!"
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Garris then appears to place his hand on the belt of one of the officers, prompting Conn to yell, “He’s got a gun!
Conn can be seen hoisting his gun and firing one round which hit Garris in the neck, paralyzing him. He was taken off life support on July 10 and his death was ruled a homicide and is being investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Speaking to WNBC, Raymond Fowler said his son’s killing was a “modern-day lynching.”
“My son was shot behind the ear, he was paralyzed instantly. I have to carry that for the rest of my life,” he said.
The New Rochelle Police Department initially released an edited video that cut off the moment of the shooting. Garris’ family is demanding the full release of the video, which is over 20 minutes.
“You see Officer Conn arrive at the scene, immediately escalate the situation by physically grabbing Jarrell. [Conn] places a handcuff on [Garris], there’s a scuffle, and then as the scuffle starts to unfold, he shoots him in the back of his neck,” family attorney William Wagstaff told WNBC.
“That’s when he then tries to narrate his way out of the murder he just committed by saying, ‘Oh, he’s got your gun, he’s got your gun.’ The officer in response says, ‘No dude, I got my gun,’ and turns and shows she still has her firearm in her holster. It was a blatant lie,” he added.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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