Authorities released surveillance video and 911 calls from a fatal police encounter on Friday, during which officers in Pasadena, California, deployed a Taser to subdue a mentally ill Black man wielding a knife, The Washington Postreports.
Relatives identified the victim as Reginald Thomas, 36, a father of eight who suffered from bipolar disorder, reports the Los Angeles Times. When news spread about the shooting Friday, more than 100 people marched in the city’s streets to protest yet another death in the nation at the hands of police.
Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said it was important to release the information to the public.
“From my perspective, releasing the video reduces angst and allows the community to see what we have seen, and they can draw their own conclusion based on that information,” he stated Friday at a news conference.
According to The Times, Thomas’s brother called police to report a domestic disturbance about 2:30 a.m. on Friday. The caller said Thomas had a knife and was “high” but had not threatened anyone.
When they arrived, the police used a Taser to subdue Thomas when he refused to comply with their command. But police said it failed to stop Thomas, and a scuffle ensued. During the confrontation, officers said they noticed that Thomas stopped breathing, so they tried to save his life through CPR until paramedics arrived, the report says. However, Thomas died at the scene.
Demonstrators march in Pasadena after mentally ill man dies in confrontation with police https://t.co/1Gib4RbLXd via @NBCLA
Shainie Lindsay, who identified herself as Thomas’ partner, told NBC Los Angeles that officers used excessive force. “They knew he was disabled, they knew he was bipolar, they knew he was on Social Security, and they still killed him,” Lindsay added.
This comes on the heels of the officer-involved shooting of Alfred Olango, a Black man, on Sep. 27 in El Cajon, California, a San Diego suburb.
The Post said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating Thomas’ death.
— Benjamin Young Savage (ᐱᓐᒋᐱᓐ) (@benjancewicz) October 16, 2019
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3. Anthony Hill, 26
Former Officer Robert Olsen killed Anthony Hill over four years ago and was finally convicted (not of murder). Will get get the Amber Guyger treatment? #AnthonyHillhttps://t.co/HZVf3tOEOL
Two lawyers representing the estate of 54-year-old Eric Logan, who was shot and killed by a South Bend police officer, have sued that officer, Sgt. Ryan O'Neill and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
This is Jaquavion Slaton, the 20-year-old who was was shot & killed by Fort Worth Police on Sunday. Community demanding release of body camera video, but FWPD hasn’t said when/if that will happen. #WFAApic.twitter.com/iakQyWrRCl
The young man who was killed by a Dallas police officer in his own apartment this morning has been identified as 26-year-old Botham Jean. He worked at the PwC firm in Downtown Dallas. https://t.co/oyjHMdMXVvpic.twitter.com/uSvJWJ062e
The kind and well-loved Robert Lawrence White was gunned down, unarmed, by a Montgomery County police officer. Now his family faces not only this traumatic... https://t.co/Xbrq1PdNdq
Patrick Harmon was shot and killed by police in Salt Lake City, Utah. The district attorney says the shooting was "legally justified." pic.twitter.com/zYBOwlTzRb
Friends and family of Jonathan Heart aka Sky Young, a young #homeless man killed last Sunday at a Walgreens in #Hollywood for allegedly shoplifting, gather tonight to remember the 20-year-old. pic.twitter.com/uiMRiFnutq
Continue reading 67 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
67 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
UPDATED: 9:54 a.m. EDT, November 16, 2019 --
Police shooting and killing Black males is all but a centuries-old American tradition among law enforcement in the U.S. But the fact that this apparent rite of police passage was still thriving in 2019 and expected to continue well into 2020 and beyond should give any American citizen pause as more and more names of Black males continue to be added to a growing list of victims with what seems like a new shooting every week.
READ MORE: Police Shootings And The Public Execution Of Black People
Other victims' names include, but certainly, aren't limited to: Tamir Rice; Botham Shem Jean; E.J. Bradford; and Michael Brown.
As NewsOne continues covering these shootings that so often go ignored by mainstream media, the below running list Black men and boys who have been shot and killed by police under suspicious circumstances can serve as a tragic reminder of the danger they face upon being born into a world of hate that branded them as suspects since birth.