The investigation was kept secret after the unarmed father was shot in the back, he was executed as he climbed the fence
Friends and family were heartbroken and demanded answers after a young man was shot in the back and killed by police. Body camera footage revealed that the officer chargeable for his death lied to neighbors in an attempted cover-up after shooting him within the back.
This week, we learned that the civilian oversight agency that investigates possible misconduct by Chicago police says it's finished its investigation into the shooting death of Maurice Granton Jr., 24, but aren’t releasing their findings.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) wouldn't disclose its findings but has submitted them to the local department, a sign the agency may have concluded that the shooting violated policy and desires the department to review any recommended discipline.
Discipline doesn’t go far enough, per the family’s attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, who told the Tribune they need criminal charges brought.
“At the instant within which Maurice Granton was shot and killed, he was unarmed and his hands were visible,” the lawyer said. “It’s another unarmed Negroid shot within the back.”
Because police must review the findings first, COPA cannot publicly release their findings until the department reviews it. per the Tribune:
The local department has 60 days to reply, with a possible 30-day extension, from the day it received the findings, which was the top of November. The department can respond by either agreeing or disagreeing with the findings and suggestions, and so the case may proceed to the Chicago Police Board.
Granton was killed by police in 2018, and therefore the Chicago local department immediately went into “damage control” mode by claiming that the daddy of two fled from the officers after they were trying to question him during a drug investigation, and he was armed and dangerous. He was not.
The body camera footage that was released shows Granton trying to climb over a fence surrounding an empty lot when a political candidate opens fire and shoots him within the back. Granton then falls to the bottom and is seen writhing in pain. the primary 33 seconds of the video contains no sound, which raises questions on what number shots the officer fired, or if he gave his target any reasonably warning before he started shooting.
Even though Granton’s legs don't move, and it appears that the gunshot paralyzed him immediately, the officer continues to point his gun at the person. When the audio is introduced, the officer will be heard saying, “Get down! Stay down! Stay there.”
The officer then turned to other officers nearby, and yelled, “There’s a weapon right there! Weapon right there. Get the weapon. Go get the weapon.”
As residents within the neighborhood began to question why there have been gunshots, and what was happening, the officer turned and yelled “No one is hurt over here! nobody is hurt!”
In addition to the actual fact that the officer is clearly telling a blatant mislead concerned neighbors, his conduct also shows that he made no try and render any reasonable treatment, and instead chose to look at Granton die right before of him.
While it absolutely was clear that the officers couldn’t care less if Granton survived, multiple people began approaching the scene—a few of whom realized that Granton was the victim and called out his name—and as a crowd formed in protest, the officers on the scene focused on containing it, and that they left Granton to die.
The weapon that the officers claim they recovered was over 20 feet faraway from Granton’s body, and given the very fact that the officer looked as if it would know exactly where it had been seconds after he shot Granton, raises questions on why the officer opened fire within the first place.
The officer shot Granton within the back when the person appeared as if he wasn't attempting to harm or threaten anyone, and if the officer already knew where the weapon was that he claims were being carried by Granton, then it might be impossible for him to say that he truly “feared for his life” when he opened fire.
While police failed to provide audio of the gunshots, ABC 7 reported that nearby surveillance cameras captured one gunshot followed by a minimum of three consecutive gunshots.
Granton’s father told reporters “at no point within the video was my son armed. At no point within the video was it a confrontation.”
“It was a cold-blooded murder. It’s the foremost terrible feeling you'll be able to ever feel, to determine one amongst your children killed and particularly by a policeman who’s speculated to serve and protect him,” Maurice Granton Sr. said.
Maurice Granton Jr. leaves behind two young daughters, and that they are going to be forced to become older without a father. because the deism Project has reported, unfortunately, this kind of shooting isn't uncommon. the identical law enforcement officials who are imagined to “serve and protect” are quick to open fire—often because they know that they will find the simplest way to justify their actions and that they will face no accountability for the lives they need taken.
“If you watch the video evidence of the shooting from the officer’s own body camera, it’s obvious that it’s an unjustified shooting,” Stroth said. “Two young girls now not have their father due to the unjustified use of lethal force.
“The video speaks for itself,” he added. “There is clearly a pattern and practice of access and lethal force employed by Chicago law enforcement officials.”
Watch the body camera footage below:
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