US man cleaning out late grandmother’s apartment shot dead by police
An Ohio man was fatally shot by police while cleaning out his dead grandmother’s apartment, family members say.
Joe Frasure Jr, 28, was shot on Monday. He died on Tuesday.
The shooting, the latest in a string of controversial police killings across the US, took place in Wyoming, Ohio, a town of about 9,000 just north of Cincinnati.
The Hamilton county sheriff’s office initially investigated the shooting before the case was taken over by the county prosecutor, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
A county coroner’s report listed Frasure’s cause of death as a police-involved shooting, WLWT5 said.
Police say officers suspected Frasure was a burglar. Frasure’s family say he was simply cleaning out the apartment after his grandmother’s death.
Police officials have said video of the encounter will be released on Friday. The officers involved have not been identified.
According to a press release, police say officers responded to a 911 call about a possible break-in involving two to three people, NBC News reported.
A neighbor placed the call, saying the apartment should have been empty.
The call was placed to a non-emergency line but rerouted to general dispatch, the Enquirer said. When officers arrived, police say, they encountered Frasure and his father at the back of the building.
Police say Frasure did not follow commands, running from officers and attempting to leave the area in a minivan. Shots were fired into the van when it “almost struck an officer”, police say.
Frasure was shot at least once in the head. He was transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died.
Disputing the police account, his family have demanded release of video of the encounter.
“I don’t care what they say: that [vehicle] was not pointed at them,” Joe Frasure Sr, Frasure’s father, told WLWT5.
Lisa Fisher, Frasure’s mother, said: “I want answers from them … I want the body-cam and everything.”
On Wednesday, Frasure’s family held a small protest outside the Wyoming police department, calling for justice and release of video.
“I want to know why they killed my brother,” said Joe Frasure Jr, Frasure Jr’s identically named half-brother. “I want to see the video.
“My brother was a father, a brother, a son, a family member. A loving friend. Please help me get Justice for my brother, please. Help me. Please help me.”