‘Don’t kill my child.’ Mom of man shot by Miami police says she called 911 to protect him
The mother of the man shot by Miami police outside a home near Liberty City on Thursday said she called 911 to keep her son safe because he was high on drugs.
Denise Armstrong told WTVJ-NBC 6 she was trying to protect her son, Donald, when she called the cops Thursday afternoon. Instead, at least one officer shot at him about a dozen times after he would not comply with their commands, according to police and witnesses’ cellphone videos.
“Don’t kill my child,” Armstrong said she told officers before the nearfatal encounter.
Around 2 p.m., police said they got a 911 call about a man “possibly high on narcotics causing a disturbance” at 5703 NW Seventh Court in the
Model City neighborhood near Liberty City. When officers arrived, police said they were contending with a man ”who was armed with a sharp object, and actively refusing to comply with officers’ commands.”
A witness cellphone video obtained by the Miami Herald shows officers confronting a man at gunpoint. He is standing on the front porch of a and holding either a knife or a screwdriver.
“Shoot! Shoot in the heart,” he yells at the officers as his mother tries to speak with him, according to the video footage. During the tense moments, officers are heard ordering people to move away from him. One officer is seen grabbing a man by the arm and directing him away from the house.
Armstrong then lifts his white shirt and an officer shoots him with a stun gun, but he rips the probes from his body. When an officer hits him with a stun-gun charge a second time, he falls forward, while waving his left arm with the object in his hand.
At that point, at least one officer opened fire, shooting him at least 10 to 12 times, including after he hit the ground, according to the video. The shooting took place around 2:45 p.m., about 45 minutes after the 911 call was made.
“They shot him dead,” a witness is heard saying in the video.
Officers provided first aid, putting pressure on Armstrong’s chest and abdomen before Miami Fire Rescue paramedics took him in critical condition to Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to police and a neighbor who asked the Herald not to be identified.
Armstrong’s condition remained critical as of Friday morning, Officer Kiara Delva told the Herald.
NEIGHBOR WITNESSES SHOOTING
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told the Herald on Friday she was coming from her boyfriend’s home when she saw a man yelling “nonsense” and holding a large screwdriver — about 12 inches long — near Northwest Seventh Court and 56th Street.
A female officer told her and others to get inside their apartments, saying the police were trying to get the man help, according to the neighbor. She said officers followed the man to the house. Once on the front porch, the man kissed a woman, believed to be his mother, the neighbor said.
“He was kissing his mom to prove he was not aggressive,” the neighbor added. .
Shortly thereafter, the police deployed stun guns and a female officer appeared to shoot at the man, striking him several times, as the neighbor recorded the incident with her cellphone, the footage shows. The neighbor said the police could have handled things differently, like giving the man’s mother more time to calm him down.
“Your job is to defend people, not to kill them,” the neighbor said.
About six days prior, the neighbor said she was sitting on her stoop when the same man tried to kiss her forcefully.
“I got scared, pushed him and went back inside,” she said.
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales acknowledged in a statement Friday that the officers could have done more to deescalate the situation. .
“I pledge to ensure that our department does better in addressing calls involving mental and behavioral issues,” Morales said in the statement.
Police have not confirmed the man’s first name. Nor has the department released the names of the officer or officers who opened fire nor the audio of the 911 call, citing ongoing investigations.
The Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are investigating. It could take months or a year before the agencies conclude their probes.
I PLEDGE TO ENSURE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT DOES BETTER IN ADDRESSING CALLS INVOLVING MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL ISSUES.
Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales