Eyewitness “Certain” Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him

Vigil1_300.jpgVillage Voice – by Ryan Devereaux

The only civilian eyewitness to come forward in the case of a Brooklyn teen shot dead by a pair of plainclothes New York City police officers is “certain” the 16 year-old was empty-handed when the cops opened fire.

Kimani ‘Kiki’ Gray was shot several times by two officers patrolling East Flatbush in an un-marked car around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.  

According to the NYPD’s account, the officers spotted Gray standing with five other young males in front of a home at E. 52nd St., near Tilden Ave. As the officers approached, Gray separated from the group and adjusted his waistband in a manner the officers deemed suspicious, the department says.

“After the anti-crime sergeant and police officer told the suspect to show his hands, which was heard by witnesses, Gray produced a revolver and pointed it at the officers, who fired a total of 11 rounds, striking Gray several times,” Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department, said.

Gray was taken to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The officers–one a veteran of eight years, the other a veteran of five–have not been identified. They have been placed on administrative duty while the shooting is investigated.

New York Daily News report published early Wednesday morning cast considerable doubt on the NYPD’s version of events.

Tishana King claims to have watched the entire scene unfold from her window. She told the Daily News she is “certain [Gray] didn’t have anything in his hands” when he was shot.

King says Gray was backing up when the officers began shooting. “Kimani started backing up,” she said. “The cop took out his gun and started firing at Kimani.”

“His [Gray’s] hands were down,” she said. “I couldn’t believe he let off [fired] his gun. There was no reason. No false move.”

A police source told the Daily News the officers who killed Gray initially reported to supervisors that he pulled a gun. King gave a tape recorded interview to the NYPD hours after the shooting and never mentioned the teen possessing a firearm.

A .38-caliber Rohm’s Industry revolver was found at the scene.

Multiple witnesses have claimed Gray begged not to be killed.

Sharon Smith told the Voice she witnessed the shooting and said her daughter was outside when it happened; “[She] heard him say ‘don’t kill me, don’t kill me.’ And they say ‘stay still’ or they going to shoot you again.”

On Tuesday New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke to reporters following the City Council’s budget hearing. He answered a number of questions about the shooting.The exchange was recorded and posted on Capital New York’s website.

When asked how many witnesses saw Gray with a gun or pointing a gun, Commissioner Kelly first said that, “We are not speaking to the shooting officers because of an agreement that we have with the district attorney.”

The commissioner explained that speaking to the officers could give them immunity; “So we don’t have direct information from the officers themselves.”

When asked if there are any witnesses in the case who “specifically say they don’t see a gun,” Commissioner Kelly said, “No.”

The commissioner went on to say the department has three civilian witness.

Two of them heard an officer say, “Don’t move,” the commissioner said. The third said they heard an officer say “freeze.” The commissioner added that one of the witnesses also heard an officer say, “What do you have in your hands?”

“We have several ear witnesses that hear the shots fired but nothing more. These are the three witnesses that have something of import,” Commissioner Kelly said.

Asked again if “witnesses say the gun was pointed at the officer at any time,” the commissioner said, “No. I told you what we have as far as the witness is concerned.” He added, “There’s nothing to indicate that this shooting, at this time, was outside the guidelines.”

The NYPD’s allegation that Gray “pointed” a gun at police was reported in virtually every major New York City news outlet over the weekend (hereherehereherehere). The department has not yet responded to requests for clarification on the source of the claim.

Dwayne Charles, 17, was returning home from a track meet, coming out of the subway at Nostrand and Church Avenue, when he got a call that Gray had been shot. The boys had been friends since the 1st grade.

Wearing a blue hoodie with a photo of Gray printed on the front, Charles stood at the same intersection Wednesday night. He described the moment he got the news.

“I’m like, ‘Alright, I’m about to be on my way,'” he said. “Hop in a dollar cab. I reach on New York [Avenue]. They like, ‘Kiki just died.'”

Since that moment Charles says he has struggled to cope. “Anytime I get any alone time,” he said, “my mind goes crazy.”

“A lot of my friends died, but it didn’t hit me like Kiki,” he added. “He was a good kid that got caught up in the wrong situation.”

Charles doubts Gray had a gun, but if he did, he’d be wise enough not to point it at the police, he says.

“Kiki is not just smart. He’s street smart also,” Charles explained. “He knows not to do something like that. He would never do something like that.”

The shooting has struck a chord with many in the East Flatbush neighborhood where he died.

On Monday, a vigil was held, as well as a march to the NYPD’s 67th precinct. The scene turned chaotic, however, when a splinter group broke from the main crowd. Approximately 60 individuals rushed into a Rite-Aid pharmacy, overturned displays, pulled a cash register down (though the department says no money was taken), struck a customer over the head with a wine bottle-resulting in a trip to the emergency room-and assaulted the store’s manager.

Videos from inside the store were posted online Tuesday. The splinter group also trashed a fruit stand, threw objects at police and broke bus windows, witnesses and the department said.

On Tuesday, Gray’s family requested that a second vigil, scheduled for last night, be postponed. Still, nearly 200 demonstrators, including a significant number from outside the community, marched through East Flatbush chanting at police in riot gear Tuesday evening.

Police sources have pointed out that Gray’s criminal record includes charges of “grand larceny, possession of stolen property and inciting a riot.”

On Monday, a police source told the Daily News the department believes Gray was a Bloods gang member and referenced a pair of online videos. The Voice discovered videos of two separate incidents that appear to match the paper’s description.

In the first recorded incident, a teen in a red-hooded sweatshirt slaps another teen in a blue hooded sweatshirt in the face while the narrator says “shapow.” The video indicates the teen in the red sweater is a Blood, while the teen in the blue was a rival Crip. The Voicewas unable to confirm if the young man in the red sweatshirt was Gray, though comments on the videos suggest so.

When asked about “shapow,” Charles bristled. “What that have to do with this?” he asked. “It don’t justify shooting him 11 times.”

“That’s what the news portraying him as, as a gang member,” he said.

Charles neither confirmed nor denied Gray’s alleged gang affiliation, arguing instead that young males in his neighborhood band together for protection. “It’s not even a gang, it’s family,” he said. “You have to have friends with you. You grow up by yourself, you getting robbed, you getting stabbed.”

In addition to street violence, Charles says guys in his area worry about being harassed by the police. He says he’s stopped by the cops “everyday.” Charles says officers and youth in the neighborhood often know each other well, but rarely on positive terms. He said this was this case with Gray.

“They been harassing Kiki,” Charles said. “They were out for him.”

He claims at least one officer was aware that Gray’s older brother had died in a car accident two years ago, and he had made light of it.

“One time Kiki and me was in Kennedy Fried Chicken, they came in the store,” he said. “They came in the store, like, ‘How your brother doing?'” Charles says Gray attempted to ignore the question and walk away but it didn’t work; “He was about to get up and leave, they was like ‘sit the fuck down before I shoot you. Sit the fuck down.'”

At Tuesday’s budget hearing, city council member Jumaane Williams, who represents the district where Gray was killed, addressed Monday night’s unrest in a pointed exchange with Commissioner Kelly. Williams argued resentment in his district is the result of systemic problems.

“We’re not going to pretend that what happened yesterday is just one incident,” Williams said. “It is not the details of one shooting. It is about how you and the NYPD and the Mayor have reacted to these communities. It is about years of not being heard.”

The sentiment resonated with Charles; “When stuff happening, they ain’t out here helping nobody.”

“They not protecting us. They just killing us,” he said. “They went over the line this time.”

[Ryan Devereaux]

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2013/03/kimani_gray_1.php

2 thoughts on “Eyewitness “Certain” Kimani Gray Was Unarmed When Police Shot Him

  1. This article says the kid was shot 11 times. I remember the article a few days ago saying the kid was shot 7 times of which 3 were in the back. Anybody else notice that?

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