A black man reportedly acting erratically at a strip mall in suburban San Diego was shot and killed by police after pulling an object from his pocket, pointing it at officers and assuming a “shooting stance,” authorities said. All this happened while a woman wailed nearby, demand ing to know why police shot her brother.
Hours later, police officers told NBC 7 San Diego the man was acting ‘erratically’ and failed to comply, although they did not release details on the specific threat he presented to officers.
The man has been identified as Alfred Olango.
We know that the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT), who is there to assist the El Cajon police department with assessing and evaluating individuals with mental illness, was not brought in to assist on the call.
This shooting occurred just three days after police in Charlotte, North Carolina released video showing the Sept. 20 killing of Keith Lamont Scott. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a police officer shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on a highway six days after the Charlotte shooting. In that case, Officer Betty Shelby, has been charged with manslaughter.
Here is a live recording of the video of the sister moments after the killing.
One San Diego shooting witness recalled seeing an officer fire five rounds. Another man said police fired on a man who had his hands out to his side. A manager inside a nearby restaurant said the suspect refused to remove his arms from his side. Police said witness video showed the man did not have his hands in the air.
Witnesses questioned the police motives in the shooting. Crowds gathering by the scene of the shooting began chanting, demanding answers from police.
One witness at a local restaurant told NBC 7 police came and took away their phones following the incident.
Meantime, other videos quickly surfaced showing the aftermath. In one posted to Facebook, an unidentified woman is heard telling police at the scene that the man was ordered to take his hand out of his pocket.
“I said: ‘Take your hand out your pocket, baby, or they’re going to shoot you.’ He said ‘no, no, no,’ ” the woman said. “When he lifted his hand out … he did have something in his hand but it wasn’t no gun, and that’s when they shot him.”
El Cajon Police spokesman Rob Ransweiler said police responded to a radio call of a 30-year-old “erratic subject.”
One video posted to FB shows a woman, identified as the suspect’s sister, crying. In the video, she’s heard saying: “I called you to help me but you killed my brother.”
“Why couldn’t you guys tase him? Why, why, why, why?” the woman cries out. I should have called the crisis team!
“I called so many times to help him,” she said, as officers ask the woman for her brother’s name and age.
Local businessman, Michael Ray Rodriguez, witnessed the shooting as it unfolded right in front of him.
“When I seen the suspect, he had his hands up,” Rodriguez said holding his arms out to the side. “I seen two officers with their firearm on him.”
“The man’s hands are up. No shirt,” he added. “He didn’t have no shirt. I didn’t hear any command ‘Halt’, ‘Stop’ or ‘I’ll shoot.’ I didn’t hear any command or yelling. I didn’t hear the man say anything. Next thing I see ‘Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow’ – five shots.”
Police said witness video showed the man did not have his hands in the air.
While the suspect stood in that position, another police officer came and blocked the suspect in three directions, Rodriguez said. He said he witnessed the suspect run to the right, and as he did so, he saw the officer fire five shots, knocking the suspect to the ground.
The entire shooting was captured on mobile phone video from the drive-through at the Los Panchos restaurant. NBC 7’s Dave Summers said an El Cajon lieutenant told him the restaurant worker voluntarily turned over the phone. The video…
… at some point in this investigation will be released, the lieutenant told Summers.
The suspect’s sister said she was encouraging her brother to do what police were telling him to do; she indicated that her brother was not showing his hands.
El Cajon City Council members approved the purchase of 88 body cameras this past May, but the El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis said he was hoping to have the cameras in use by the start of 2017.
By subscribing, you consent to receive emails from BlackDoctor.com. You may unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service.
