Father of man shot, killed by police in Washington County says he intends to seek justice for his son
WASHINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — State police are investigating after a man was shot and killed by law enforcement in Washington County over the weekend.
Soon, they will hand over their findings to the Washington County District Attorney's Office, which will determine if the police shooting was justified.
KDKA-TV spoke one-on-one with the victim's father, who believes it was not.
"He is dead now. He doesn't have a voice. But I have to be his voice," said Eduardo Hoover Sr.
Eduardo Hoover Sr. told KDKA-TV on Monday he is still processing what happened to his son, 38-year-old Eduardo Hoover Jr. He was the father of three who was shot and killed by police after a car chase on Sunday.
According to investigators, the chase lasted several miles at various speeds. During the chase, they say Eduardo Hoover Jr. rammed his truck into a police car, drove into a utility pole and tried to drive toward officers.
That is when Pennsylvania State Police said officers from Smith and Mt. Pleasant townships shot Eduardo Hoover Jr. He received medical attention but died at the scene, officials said.
Investigators said the chase started because Eduardo Hoover Jr. was driving recklessly and refused to pull over for a traffic stop, but his dad believes the chase should never have happened.
"There's always tomorrow to make an arrest. That's just escalating it. When you chase somebody, more bad things can happen. Somebody could get run over," he said.
There were no reports that Eduardo Hoover Jr. was armed, and his father questioned why officers used deadly force.
"Can't you just stop the vehicle with another vehicle? There are other ways to stop a vehicle," said Eduardo Hoover Sr.
Eduardo Hoover Jr. was known to the police for past convictions and current charges against him. Despite this, his father said he fell on hard times and was recently working on turning his life around.
He believes this was an act of police brutality and intends to seek justice for his son.
