LA police officers shot a 62-year-old man in his living room, saying the disabled man tried to take one of their firearms, but his family says he was only turning away from the cops when they opened fire on him.
Michael Thomas died in his home in Lancaster after cops responded to reports of a domestic dispute. The family of the victim said the 62-year-old would still be alive if he was white.
But according to LA County Sheriff’s deputies, the 62-year-old ‘reached for the deputy’s gun’ before one of the cops shot him.
Thomas’s fiancée, Kimberly, and attorney Bradley Gage, insisted that he was turning away from the cops and was unarmed. They also said that they were only having a verbal argument but he wasn’t hurting Kimberly.
Gagge told The Daily Beast: “There is no doubt in my mind that if Mr. Thomas was white, he would be alive today.”
The incident occurred at around 5:30 am Thursday when officers responded to a call over a domestic violence incident. It was Kimberly who contacted 911 and police said she later informed them that Thomas had assaulted her.
LA police officers, who are not currently required to wear body cams, arrived and tried to detain Thomas but the 62-year-old didn’t comply. He then allegedly tried to take one of their firearms before one of the officers shot him.
A statement by the police read: “During the altercation, the suspect reached down and attempted to gain control of one of the deputy’s firearms. It was at that time when a deputy-involved shooting occurred.”
But the victim’s family denied the allegations and claim the officers ‘murdered’ Thomas ‘without justifications.’
“They broke the front down and they grabbed Mr. Thomas immediately. As they were holding him, they hurt him by twisting his arm. At that point, because he was uncomfortable, Mr. Thomas tried to move and one deputy just stepped back and shot him,” Gage told The Daily Beast.
“He was murdered without justification. It was 100 percent avoidable.”
He added: “He was disabled, he had problems with his hands. It would have been painful for him to try to grab a gun.”
In an interview with CBS Los Angeles, Kimberly said that the reports Thomas had tried to take one of the guns were not true.
The 62-year-old was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The police department told DailyMail that the investigation into the case is ongoing.
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