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 Post reports.
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.
Alluding to widespread unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, following a decision to delay releasing videos of a police shooting, Sanchez said he wants to protect his officers and protesters from injuries.
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.
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.
SOURCE: Washington Post , L.A. Times , NBC Los Angeles | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter
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67 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
67 Black Men And Boys Killed By Police
1. De’von Bailey, 19
1 of 672. Christopher Whitfield, 31
2 of 673. Anthony Hill, 26
3 of 674. De'Von Bailey, 19
4 of 675. Eric Logan, 54
5 of 676. Jamarion Robinson, 26
6 of 677. Gregory Hill Jr., 30
7 of 678. JaQuavion Slaton, 20
8 of 679. Ryan Twyman, 24
9 of 6710. Brandon Webber, 20
10 of 6711. Jimmy Atchison, 21
11 of 6712. Willie McCoy, 20
12 of 6713. Emantic "EJ" Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., 21
13 of 6714. D’ettrick Griffin, 18
14 of 6715. Jemel Roberson, 26
Source:false 15 of 6716. DeAndre Ballard, 23
Source:false 16 of 6717. Botham Shem Jean, 26
Source:false 17 of 6718. Robert Lawrence White, 41
Source:false 18 of 6719. Anthony Lamar Smith, 24
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19 of 67
20. Ramarley Graham, 18
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20 of 67
21. Manuel Loggins Jr., 31
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21 of 67
22. Trayvon Martin, 17
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22 of 67
23. Wendell Allen, 20
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23 of 67
24. Kendrec McDade, 19
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24 of 67
25. Larry Jackson Jr., 32
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25 of 67
26. Jonathan Ferrell, 24
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26 of 67
27. Jordan Baker, 26
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27 of 67
28. Victor White lll, 22
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28 of 67
29. Dontre Hamilton, 31
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29 of 67
30. Eric Garner, 43
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30 of 67
31. John Crawford lll, 22
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31 of 67
32. Michael Brown, 18
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32 of 67
33. Ezell Ford, 25
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33 of 67
34. Dante Parker, 36
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34 of 67
35. Kajieme Powell, 25
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35 of 67
36. Laquan McDonald, 17
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36 of 67
37. Akai Gurley, 28
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37 of 67
38. Tamir Rice, 12
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38 of 67
39. Rumain Brisbon, 34
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39 of 67
40. Jerame Reid, 36
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40 of 67
41. Charly Keunang, 43
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41 of 67
42. Tony Robinson, 19
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42 of 67
43. Walter Scott, 50
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43 of 67
44. Freddie Gray, 25
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44 of 67
45. Brendon Glenn, 29
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45 of 67
46. Samuel DuBose, 43
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46 of 67
47. Christian Taylor, 19
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47 of 67
48. Jamar Clark, 24
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48 of 67
49. Mario Woods, 26
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49 of 67
50. Quintonio LeGrier, 19
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50 of 67
51. Gregory Gunn, 58
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51 of 67
52. Akiel Denkins, 24
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52 of 67
53. Alton Sterling, 37
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53 of 67
54. Philando Castile, 32
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54 of 67
55. Terrence Sterling, 31
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55 of 67
56. Terence Crutcher, 40
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56 of 67
57. Keith Lamont Scott, 43
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57 of 67
58. Alfred Olango, 38
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58 of 67
59. Jordan Edwards, 15
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59 of 67
60. Stephon Clark, 22
Source:false 60 of 6761. Danny Ray Thomas, 34
Source:false 61 of 6762. DeJuan Guillory, 27
Source:false 62 of 6763. Patrick Harmon, 50
63 of 6764. Jonathan Hart, 21
64 of 6765. Maurice Granton, 24
65 of 6766. Julius Johnson, 23
66 of 67
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.
Mentally Ill Black Man Dies In Police Custody In Pasadena, California was originally published on newsone.com
