Franklin's Family Attorney: Uptown Shooting Case Not Over
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The attorney for the family of Terrance Franklin, who was shot and killed by police in Uptown, says the case is not over, despite a grand jury decision.
Last week, the grand jury exonerated Minneapolis police officers involved in a struggle that left two of them shot and Terrance Franklin dead. On Thursday, Minneapolis Police released 228 pages of its criminal investigation into the case, information they say proves the probe was thorough.
Attorney Michael Padden, however, is now making allegations he says proves the Minneapolis Police Department's version of what happened in that basement on May 10, 2012, does not match the evidence.
He says he is not slamming the grand jury and the decision they made, but he says he's upset that evidence he feels would have change the outcome of the case, was never presented to the grand jury.
Padden refers to an autopsy report that shows Franklin was shot nine times on the right side of his body.
"You don't need to be a med examiner or even a first-year medical student to know that would seem to indicate that the shooter is in one position," Padden said.
Padden believes the shots were fired by one officer he says has a history of run-ins with Black males. He also claims MPD did not test Franklin's hands to see if he indeed fired a gun.
MPD claims Franklin's DNA was on the trigger of one of the officer's weapons.
But it's a video taken by an independent witness of the shooting that Padden says could have turned the tide of the case. Padden says when the audio is enhanced you can hear MPD officers use a racial slur. He says seconds later, you could hear Franklin's voice on the video.
"'Man, let me go,' This is the voice ladies and gentlemen of Terrance Franklin," Padden said.
Padden says this proves MPD's timeline of events is flawed.
"It's important to note that based on the Minneapolis Police Department version of these events, that young man is not supposed to be alive then," Padden said.
Minneapolis police stand by the investigation and the grand jury's decision.
"A grand jury cleared all officers from any wrongdoing connected to this matter," MPD police chief Janea Harteau said in a statement. "The Minneapolis Police Department presented the facts of this case to the public in a detailed presentation last week. We respect the grand jury process and stand by our officers."
