Body-cam footage shows a cop shooting an unarmed 14-year-old boy in the back as he is lying face down on the ground—lawsuit

A family has received the body camera footage as a part of their lawsuit against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office which they are saying shows a Jefferson Parish deputy shoot their 14-year-old son within the back. The boy, Tre’mall McGee, was complying with officers, unarmed, and completely defenseless when he was shot within the back, consistent with the lawsuit.

“He was literally laid out on the bottom along with his nose within the dirt,” attorney Christopher Murell, who represents the family said. “Thank goodness it wasn’t quite ammunition because Tre’mall would be dead without delay.”

According to police, they were pursuing McGee who was a passenger during a car driven by another juvenile. They were accused of driving a stolen car. However, consistent with the lawsuit, McGee and therefore the driver — who is additionally a plaintiff within the case — didn't know the car was stolen.

The incident unfolded on March 20, 2020, because the two teens stopped the car and so fled on foot. The body camera footage was scarcely made available to the attorney and also the families involved and reportedly shows the officer threatening to shoot and so shoot McGee as he lies facedown on the bottom.

The footage which has not yet been released publicly is from a Westwego officer’s body camera who was assisting the sheriff’s office. Murell says there's little question the video shows McGee was completely defenseless and complying when he was shot.

“Tre’mall’s mom, when she saw her son shot, went up and hugged the tv because she finally saw the reality of what happened,” Murell said.

In an interview with 4WWL, Tiffany McGee, Tre’mall’s mother, concerned the officers involved to be held accountable.

“Take responsibility for what you probably did. Look me in my eyes and just give me an honest reason why. You were that scared, you were that much of a coward, of somebody contacts the bottom unarmed,” McGee said.

“Our clients don't seem to be concerned about money. What they care about is justice,” Murell said.

According to the lawsuit, the body camera shows officers use excessive force on the opposite teen also. The officers are accused of kicking the opposite teen within the face and failing to say both the shooting and therefore the use of force in their initial reports.

The original report only mentions a probe of a stolen car and also the look for the teenagers seen riding in it. No shooting or use of force is mentioned in it in the least.

It wasn’t until months later that a supplemental report was released during a group discussion that detailed the shootings. Originally, police were so tight-lipped about the shooting that when Tiffany found the hospital to determine her son, she thought he’d been a victim of street violence.

“No one said anything,” McGee said. “No one spoke up to mention an official shot, my child.”

“To deny the existence or not confirm a deputy shot someone in an arrest is gaslighting, pure and easy,” said Hector Linares, a longtime juvenile public attorney now at Loyola University College of Law. “If the facts were favorable to them, they’d be shouting it.”

According to 4WWL, Sheriff Joe Lopinto told reporters he couldn't touch upon the matter because of the pending litigation.

“People are searching for answers. They’re always trying to find answers, but we've got a process that's in situ,” Lopinto said at the time.

However, the lawsuit is now doing the identifying that the sheriff’s office is refusing to try to and McGee’s family hopes it'll cause justice for his or her son. Shockingly enough, this was the second officer-involved shooting of a baby within the same department in but a month. In April, the town of Metairie, Louisiana was shocked when hearing a few deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office shooting a 14-year-old boy within the head. within the original story, we were told that deputy William Daniel Short confronted a bunch of youngsters in his yard and defended himself. However, as more details emerged, we learned that the kid never attacked the deputy and he shot the boy after allegedly mistaking the child’s cellphone screen for a muzzle flash.

Just like within the case of McGee, officials haven't released any details within the case, and also the deputy who shot the kid remains on duty