Detroit police officers fire 38 shots at mentally-ill man
(CBS DETROIT/AP) --The Detroit Police Department released footage Tuesday from body-worn cameras of a shooting where five officers fired 38 shots in three seconds, killing a mentally-ill man.
Early Sunday morning, Detroit police encountered Porter Burks, 20, near Snowden and Lyndon streets after his family called 911 worried about his mental condition.
"I'm trying to help you; I just want to help you, man," one of the officers can be heard saying on the video. "Whatever you want, we can help you with, we can get you home."
DPD Chief James White says Burks, who struggled with schizophrenia, was holding a knife and wouldn't drop it.
"Was non-lethal options, like mace or pepper spray, ever considered?" CBS Detroit asked White during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
"I can't speak to mace or pepper spray, but we know that the taser was part of their decision and strategy," White responded.
People who live on the block where occurred spoke with CBS Detroit on the condition of anonymity. They heard the back and forth between Burks and officers.
"'We can take you home,' you know what I'm saying, you can a lift home or a ride home and stuff. And then he started running at police with a knife, and they shot him," a witness said.
Burks was pronounced dead at a hospital.
"At this point, it appears that he has 15 wounds on his body," said Christopher Graveline with DPD's Professional Standards unit.
White called the shooting a "very tragic situation" but defended the officers' response, saying it's part of their training.
"There's no time in three seconds and someone charging at you with a knife to look over to see what other people are doing. You, as a trained police officer, are trying to stop the threat," White said.
It was not Burks' first contact with Detroit police.
On June 26, he was admitted to a Detroit hospital psychological ward after he was found walking in his neighborhood "looking to fight someone," police said.
Burks escaped two days later in hospital garb and was arrested by officers as he ran in and out of traffic.
In August 2020, he stabbed his 7-year-old stepsister in the neck. That March, he stabbed his sister in the neck and his brother in the head.
"This is not just a police matter," White said. "We need help with this system. The officers are routinely put into this mode, and candidly, we're seeing more and more violent episodes."
Advocates for people with mental illness say they face a greater risk of a police encounter resulting in death.
Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told The Associated Press last month that many communities lack a mental health crisis infrastructure and that nearly 130 million people in the United States live in areas with a shortage of mental health providers.
The Treatment Advocacy Center said in a 2015 report that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter than those approached by law enforcement.
Although Burks had a criminal history associated with his mental illness, his family says he shouldn't have died over it. They are distraught at DPD in their grief.
"If anyone out here has a family number or a loved one or even a neighbor that is suffering from mental illness, help them yourself. Do not call 911. They may not make it," said Michelle Wilson, Burks' aunt.
The officers who fired shots Sunday at Burks have been placed on administrative leave.
State police are investigating Sunday's shooting and will submit their findings to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Meanwhile, Detroit police are conducting an internal administrative probe.
On Monday, attorney Geoffrey Fieger said his firm had been retained by the Burks' family and was working to obtain evidence from the shooting.