Family Of Man Killed In Police-Involved Shooting Disputes Footage
CHICAGO (CBS)—Newly-released video that shows last month's fatal police-involved shooting of Maurice Granton, Jr. raises questions, according to the victim's family.
A spokesperson for Chicago Police says shots were fired after a confrontation with an armed offender, and a weapon was recovered.
But after seeing the video, the family is questioning prior accounts of the shooting.
The victim's father, Maurice Granton, Sr., was shaken after watching the footage of his son being shot by a Chicago Police officer.
The officer's body cam that captured the incident wasn't equipped with audio recording, but the sound of gunfire can be heard on another officer's body cam, according to CBS 2's Mai Martinez, who talked to Granton on Wednesday.
A gunshot can be heard before there's a pause, followed by several more shots.
"It was cold-blooded murder," Granton said. "It was hard to watch because they shot my son and left him flailing on the ground."
The shooting occurred June 6 near 47th and Prairie, in an area of Chicago's South Side bordered by the Bronzeville neighborhood to the north and Washington Park to the south.
The community has lashed out against police, who released a video showing Granton in possession of a gun before he was shot.
Chicago police also tweeted a photo of a gun they say was found at the scene.
The Granton family has since hired a lawyer to help fight their claim that Maurice wasn't armed when he was shot.
"The narrative was it was an armed confrontation," Granton said. "At no point in this video is my son armed, and at no point in the video was it a confrontation—he was running."
The family's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said Maurice's hands were on a fence when he was shot, proving he wasn't holding a gun.
"Maurice did not have a weapon in his hands when he was shot," Romanucci said.
The body cam footage captures police referencing a gun, Martinez reports.
"Get the weapon! Get the weapon! Get the gun! Get the gun!" an officer shouts.
Romanucci said the video sends a chilling message.
"If you're a young man in the city of Chicago, do not run from the Chicago police," he said.
