Officer Kills Unarmed Black Man Having a Seizure
An unarmed black man repeatedly shot by police in a San Diego, California, suburb has died from his injuries after being taken to a local hospital.
According to NBC, 30-year-old Alfred Olango was wandering into traffic and “not acting like himself” when his sister decided to call 911 to ask for help. When an officer arrived on the scene, Olango reportedly “failed” to follow directives, and the officer drew his firearm. Another officer then arrived as backup.
“The male subject paced back and forth while the officers tried to talk to him,” El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis said at a news conference, according to ABC-10. “At one point, the male rapidly drew an object from his front pants pocket, placed both hands together on it, extended it rapidly towards the officer, taking what appeared to be a shooting stance, putting the object in the officer’s face.”
This prompted one of the officers to open fire while the other officer attempted to subdue him with a stun gun. Witnesses reported hearing as many as five gunshots, although police have refused to confirm this number.
Witnesses have also said that, contrary to Chief Davis’s claims, Olango was empty-handed when police shot him, and that he put his hands in the air when the officers drew their weapons. Others claimed that the man was “mentally challenged” and suffering from a seizure prior to the shooting - something his sister appeared to confirm in a Facebook Live video.
“I called for help, I didn’t call for you guys to kill him!” Olango’s sister said, according to NY Daily News. “Oh my God, you killed my brother … Why couldn’t you Tase him? I told them he’s sick.”
NBC reports that a witness has “voluntarily provided” cell phone footage of the shooting to help police with their investigation, and that the two officers involved have been put on administrative leave.
However, shortly after the shooting, many were quick to take to social media to express their outrage, fear, and heartache over the news that another unarmed black person had been killed at the hands of police. Olango’s death comes just days after the killing of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and countless others this year alone.
Additional reporting from the Associated Press.
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