A cell phone video showing Northern California cops gun down a 110-pound mentally ill man last month surfaced this week, showing the man running away from cops when they charge towards him while firing a dozen shots.
Prior to the video surfacing, Sacramento police were claiming the usual: That Joseph Mann turned towards them while holding a knife, then reached into his waistband, which made them fear for their lives, prompting them to shoot him multiple times because they were “worried he might hurt citizens in the area.”
The incident took place on the morning of July 11 when police said they received calls from witnesses alleging that Mann was carrying a gun and a knife – but they have yet to release audio recordings of those calls.
No gun was ever found and there has been no mention of a knife either.
This week, Mann’s family filed a lawsuit against the Sacramento Police Department. Family attorney John Burris released the video on Friday.
google_ad_client = "ca-pub-8719239441051793";
google_ad_slot = "3606839893";
google_ad_width = 300;
google_ad_height = 600;
The video, which is not the best quality, does not show a knife in his hands, but it does show Mann acting erratically, making karate chops in the air.(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:8606150711183207,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7736-8965"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.lockerdome.com/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
The cops are following them in their cars as he walks away from them. The man video recording is also following along, but keeping at a safe distance.
Right before the 2:20 mark, Mann can be seen running down the sidewalk as cops start charging him. In that split second, the man recording lowers his camera, which is when the shots are fired.
He then lifts his camera back up and Mann can seen lying on the sidewalk.
“Oh, my God!” the man recording yells.
According to the Davis Vanguard:
Attorney Burris lamented that “as a result of the officers’ ‘comply or die’ attitude, agitated officers inexplicably left the safety of their patrol vehicles and unnecessarily provoked a close range confrontation with Joseph Mann.” Burris further charges that “non-lethal force was not employed, no beanbags, Tasers, or pepper spray, all of which should have been considered by these officers, who made no attempt to subdue Mr. Mann with non-lethal force prior to dispatching a firing squad.”
Mann was struck 16 times by bullets fired by Sacramento officers John C. Tennis and Officer Randy R. Lozoya.
Mann, who once worked for the department of corrections, became homeless and began suffering from mental illness following the death of his mother in 2011, according to Fox 40.
Burris said the department has not only refused to release the 911 calls, but have also refused to release body cam footage of the shooting. Read the initial police narrative here.
The post Newly Surfaced Cell Phone Video Contradicts California Cop Narrative of Shooting Death of Mentally Ill Man appeared first on PINAC News.