Family of Miss Teen Allegedly Run Over by Police Cruiser: 'Kadarius Is at Peace. But We’re Not'

Kadarius Smith, 17, died March 21. The local Mississippi police department his family holds responsible for his death has not turned over dashcam footage

Patrick Smith wants to know what exactly happened in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 21.

He knows only what a witness has reported: His 17-year-old son, Kadarius Smith, was walking home with friends in the small Mississippi town of Leland, when a police officer in a cruiser allegedly began chasing the teenager, fatally running him over from behind.

“I won’t get to see my child walk across that stage next year,” Patrick said of the high school junior. “I won’t ever have a grandchild because he was the last Smith. They took that from me.”

At a press conference live-streamed from New Zion Baptist Church in Leland, Miss., Tuesday, April 16, Kadarius’ family called for transparency in the case, pleading that Leland police release the dashcam footage of the incident.

Related: Miss. Teen Was Chased, Fatally Hit By Police Car on Walk Home, Family Says, as They Plead for Body-Camera Video

“This road to justice starts with transparency,” civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who represents the family, said at the press conference, surrounded by Kadarius’ family and friends holding posters reading: “Justice for Kadarius Smith.”

Smith’s mother, KayChia Calvert — who has said she saw tire marks across her child’s back — held a photograph of her son as Crump spoke.

“We don’t have all the answers, but we know that he was running from the police, that he committed no crime — that anybody has been able to speak of — and that he was inexplicably run over by the police officer,” Crump said, adding: “We understand that there is dashcam video that the police have that shows us exactly what happened. We don’t have to speculate or guess, we can get to the truth.”

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The name and race of the officer has not yet been released.

In the weeks immediately following Kadarius’ death, the officer was placed on administrative leave, pending an independent investigation, Edward J. Bogen, Jr., an attorney who represents the Leland Police Department, previously told PEOPLE.

In March, Boten said the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation were investigating the case.

PEOPLE reached out to highway patrol Captain Johnny Poulos inquiring about the result of the investigation, which Bogen previously suggested would be concluded after the Easter holiday. Poulos did not respond in time for publication.

Bogen — who did not respond by phone or email Tuesday — previously told PEOPLE in an interview that Crump had misrepresented the series of events leading to the teenager’s death.

“The allegation that he was simply walking home with friends — that’s just not true,” Bogen said, though he declined to provide details, citing the ongoing investigation.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Kadarius’ uncle, Marcus, recalled getting the 3:00 a.m. call about Kadarius being hit by a police car.

“He enjoyed his family, he enjoyed traveling, he enjoyed life: the very thing that was taken away from him,” Marcus said, urging police reform through his tears.

“Kadarius is at peace,” he said. “But we’re not.”

Kadarius’ godmother, Gloria Jordan, said that both she and Kadarius’ mother have worked in law enforcement.

“This hurts my heart,” Jordan said, referencing her badge, and adding: “His name matters. Show us what happened, tell us what happened.”

Kadarius’ death — which occurred near Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Huddleston Street in Leland, less than a two-hour drive from the state’s capital of Jackson — follows a recent string of police brutality cases in Mississippi, including a racially-motivated attack by six White former law enforcement officers who called themselves the “Goon Squad.”

Crump has represented the families of other Black teenagers who died in high-profile in incidents across the country, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Martin Lee Anderson.

“If this was their child, what would they do?” Crump asked, referencing the police. “We don’t need a justice system for Black America and White America, we need one justice system for the United States of America.”

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