Protesters Outside ICE Office Call For Transparency, Justice
DETROIT (WWJ) -- Detroit's Immigration and Customs office was the scene of a rally and protest on Friday, calling for action in the wake of the Terrence Kellom case.
Kellom was shot and killed by ICE officer Mitchell Quinn on April 27. Ron Scott, with the Coalition Against Police Brutality, said that there should be a hold on money for task forces.
"We want a suspension of funds until there can be federal oversight," Scott said. "We want a situation where in fact we actually begin to deal with these multi-jurisdictional task forces and minimize those.
"This is not local control or local police, this is the beginning of a national police force and that's not what we want to see in this country," Scott added.
Police said that Quinn — part of a fugitive task force involving ICE and officers with the Detroit Police Department — was attempting to serve an armed robbery warrant at a home in the 9500 block of Evergreen near W. Chicago when the shooting occurred.
[MORE: Lawyer: ICE Agent Acted 'By The Book' In Fatal Detroit Shooting]
Police said Kellom wielded a weapon, reportedly a hammer, as he threatened Quinn who opened fire — but family members who were inside the home dispute that claim.
Kevin Kellom said he watched as his son was shot twice in the chest before "eight more shots rang out."
"They executed my son in my face. My son died with a clenched fist, no hammer. My son reached for me and got shot," he said. "I want justice, I'm gonna get justice. I promised him that, and I'm promising his mother that. I'm not gonna stop until I get justice for my son."
Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR Michigan, want Quinn suspended along with answers to other questions.
"Police Chief (James) Craig from day one was acting as an advocate on behalf of the task force and the police officer," "He claims that the joint police weren't involved in the actual raid, yet he showed up at the scene and was speaking on behalf of the task force. So there's a lot of unanswered questions in regard to this matter, there still in not full transparency."
Scott and the protesters are calling for an increase in transparency in the investigation process.
"A person in his home, killed in his home with a warrant-less search, essentially," Scott said. "This has got to stop. The chief has said that there was a fugitive warrant, now that's a technical term for officers meaning that they can pick somebody up on the street."