BOSTON — The family of Stephenson King is demanding answers nearly a month after the 39-year-old man was shot multiple times and killed by a Boston Police Officer in an alleged carjacking in West Roxbury.
King’s family says they have yet to see any police bodycam footage from the shooting and add that King was facing mental health issues when he was shot.
Attorney Ben Crump says they’re not only calling for transparency, but they’re calling for the release of that footage. “Just because you’re having a mental health crisis doesn’t mean you should be sentenced to death and that police officer on the side of that street, was the judge, the jury and the executioner,” said Crump.
King’s father and retired state correctional officer Stephenson King Sr. says his son wasn’t the same after his mother’s passing in 2009. He claims he even tried to get King help but wasn’t successful.
“I requested a judge to help me help my son because at 39 years old, I couldn’t do it because he’s too old and I was told by a person that he was fine, but he wasn’t fine. Now he’s gone. He shouldn’t be dead because of the fact that I tried to get some help from the same law enforcement I worked consistently,” said King Sr.
Former Karen Read lawyer David Yannetti will defend Officer Nicholas O’Malley in this case. In a statement Thursday, he says Officer O’Malley was falsely accused and instead defended his fellow officers when confronted by King. He has pleaded not guilty.
“This is about building trust between law enforcement and the community, said Crump.
Police Commissioner Michael Cox says there is no higher level of accountability than the criminal justice system.
Attorney Crump says they will pursue every legal avenue in their pursuit for justice.
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