by Christian Spencer
April 8, 2021
Police line at a crime scene [istockphoto.com]
A motorist’s camera footage will be used as evidence against a San Francisco Bay Area police officer who shot and killed a homeless Black man.
On March 11, Tyrell Wilson was allegedly gunned down by officer Andrew Hall in Danville. According to ABC News, the Wilson family’s lawyer, John Burris, claims that the officer violated the man’s civil rights and he plans to file a federal civil rights suit against the officer.
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Wilson, a 37-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, was reportedly throwing rocks from an overpass onto a highway. Hall arrived on the scene and noticed Wilson was armed with a folding knife in his right hand and a bag in his left hand.
Hall took swift action to subdue Wilson, but the video shows Wilson appearing to walk backward while Hall advances forward. Wilson was shot in a parking lot used for carpoolers—it was also his home.
Wilson died March 17 at a nearby hospital, ABC News reported.
Danville Police Officer Shoots Homeless Black Man Tyrell Wilson
•Apr 6, 2021
“The video and witness accounts show this was a cold murder. Wilson never had a chance,” Burris said in a statement.
Pending an investigation, Hall is on paid administrative leave, and if he returns to the police department, he has requested a new assignment outside of Danville, his attorney Michael Rains told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“[The video] tells nothing about what occurred there,” Rains said, describing the video as unsteady and weirdly positioned.
There is a history of suspicion against Hall, who similarly shot and killed another Black man in 2018— Laudemar Arboleda, 33.
In that case, Hall testified that he was afraid for his life that Arboleda would run him over, but it was reported by the East Bay Times that Hall did not yell any commands.
Burris did not represent Arboleda, but at the time, he spoke at news conference and said that Hall was reckless and negligent when he shot into a moving car.
Prosecutors with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office are still investigating the 2018 shooting.
“They didn’t and now he has killed another innocent man. Enough is enough. This officer is a menace,” Burris said about Hall.
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