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By Erik Ortiz
The family of a Californian rapper who was fatally injured by police in his car said that an officer's camera hinted that the camera had given him the impression that 39 he was not awake when they opened fire and that he seemed to be scratching and not getting himself a weapon.
"What we saw, it's a sleepy man," said David Harrison, a 20-year-old cousin of Willie McCoy. "He reached his left shoulder of the right arm while scratching himself, he was not awake, he did not have enough time to wake up."
The Vallejo Police in the San Francisco Bay Area were responding to a call about a man who was not responding to the wheel of a Taco Bell vehicle with a handgun on his lap. The camera footage, which was taken by one of the six officers who shot McCoy, was shown Wednesday to three family members, including Harrison, who watched the video for about an hour and a half. .
In the video, he explained, the agents asked McCoy to show them his hands, and then quickly shot him, adding that he had never heard the agents go off. identify as police officers.
"It was almost instantaneous," said Harrison, 48. "I can not tell you how many seconds, but if I had to estimate, after what I saw, maybe from a few seconds."
Harrison stated that he had not seen the face of his youngest cousin from the point of view of the police officer's camera, but that for about 15 minutes before the shooting, the police were standing up and did not appear have a plan of action that could have prevented anyone from being hurt.
The family's description of events after viewing the Bodycam camera images differs from the official version of the Vallejo font as a result of the shooting.
According to the Vallejo police, a call was received around 22:30. On February 9, a Taco Bell employee said that there was a driver "collapsed" into a silver Mercedes-Benz in the driving department.
Police said they had arrived and tried to tidy McCoy's car, which was still rolling, to prevent any erratic movement. It was at that time that they said that he had woken up but had not listened to orders.
While he was "quickly dropping his hands" towards his weapon, six officers "fearing for their safety" took out their service weapons and shot him in four seconds, police said. There is no mention of McCoy firing his gun and none of the officers were wounded.
Family lawyers said they were beaten about 25 times, including on the face, throat and upper body.
The six officers, who went from seven months to twelve years to the Vallejo Police Department, were reinstated.
Harrison stated that a video taken from the camera of policeman Anthony Romero-Cano showed him conversing with another officer about the weapon on McCoy's lap and that he recognized that He had no clip in the rifle, indicating that he could have had a bullet in the rifle. the room or was empty.
Harrison also said he heard an officer tell another McCoy member that "he was moving around" and then said he knew "what to do" – raising questions about what that meant.
"They said that he had taken a gun," Harrison added. "We have never seen that."
The police did not publicly release the camera footage on the body, citing the ongoing investigation.
The video of a mobile phone camera from a witness taken away on the night of filming captured the sound of the police shootout and an officer shouting: "Raise your hands!" after the volley of blows. McCoy died on the scene.
A semi-automatic handgun "with a built-in charger inserted into the gun" was found that night, police said.
The department did not immediately return a request for additional comment on Thursday, but created a webpage on the record to allow the public to "separate the facts from the fiction regarding this investigation".
Harrison said the police had offered her condolences on Wednesday, but had also told the family that she had discovered that McCoy had drugs in his system.
"They said they could usually defame the suspect, but they decided not to do it," Harrison said. "I asked them if the officers had been tested for drugs, and they said no."
An autopsy report and a toxicology report are publicly retained during the investigation. No matter what was in McCoy's system, Harrison said, he did not seem to be in a threatening position inside his car.
"There was no appeal from this angry man or burglary from a shop," he added. "It's a person who seems to need help."
Oakland Civil Rights Law Firm, John Burris, has filed a lawsuit against the city and officers alleging negligence.
A spokesman for the city said the claim remained "under review" and a response would be given within 45 days of receipt.
Melissa Nold, one of the family's lawyers, said that she was not allowed to watch camera videos with her clients, adding that there was had no legal justification, but rather a decision made by the department.
"It's the frustration they create: now there are lay people who interpret things, unlike someone who has seen hundreds," she said.
The family viewed the camera footage the same day that Andrew Bidou, the Vallejo police chief, announced his retirement after more than four years of work.
City leaders said his retirement was announced for the first time a year ago. This has nothing to do with recent criticism of how the ministry fired on police shootings or the use of force by police, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported.
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