A man in Ohio was shot by police after they thought he was a burglar, but his family said he was only cleaning out his late grandmother's house.
In Wyoming, a city outside Cincinnati, police responded around 1 a.m. to a 911 call reporting a few people trying to break into an apartment, according to NBC News.
Police Chief Brooke Brady said Joe Frasure Jr., and his father Joe Frasure Sr., were found behind the building. Frasure Jr. refused police orders to step out of a minivan.
“The minivan reversed at a high rate of speed, before hitting a tree, at which point the vehicle accelerated rapidly at our officers,” she told the news outlet. “The officers fired four shots at the minivan as the minivan was accelerating towards them,” she added.
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office reports that Frasure Jr. was hit with gunfire and the vehicle crashed into the building. Frasure Jr. was pulled from the wreckage and transported to University Hospital, where he later died on Jan 31.
WLWT reports that the man and his dad were helping his sister clean out their grandmother's apartment where she lived before her death.
Frasure Jr.'s sister Shonda Coleman refuted the police chief’s account of what took place.
“I didn’t hear no commands. All I heard is pop, pop, pop, pop. Like, it was, like, 10 rounds.... I want to see the bodycam. I want all the cops that was here, every one of them that was here, I want their information."
WLWT also reported that Frasure Jr. was not driving towards the police when they opened fire at the minivan.
“I want to know why they killed my brother. I want to see the video,” said Frasure’s brother, who is also named Joe.“My brother was a father, a brother, a son, a family member. A loving friend. Please help me get justice for my brother, please. Help me. Please help me,” he said.
Joe Frasure Jr.'s death at the hands of police, while he was cleaning out his deceased grandmother's home, was an avoidable tragedy. The police officers who killed him, and brought even more grief to a family suffering loss, need to be brought to justice.
Source: The New York Post