On Friday, police shot and killed 20-year-old Hakeem Littleton in Detroit and protests broke out over the shooting.
Asar Amen-Ra, who describes himself as the uncle of Littleton said:
“We hear one thing from the police, and another thing from the community. The community told us that the police pulled up, told (him) to get on the ground. He put his hands up, and these mother f****** shot him in the back of the head.”
But it would appear that reality is much different than the uncle’s alleged story. Littleton did not have his arms fully raised. The video released shows that while they were lifted halfway, it was so he could aim his gun and shoot at the police officers.
The unfortunate thing (for Littleton anyway) is that the policemen were there for someone else and Littleton could have walked away at any time, had he chosen to do so.
Littleton declared that he would not allow the police to take the other man into custody.
He raised his gun and fired twice and then fired twice more after the police pulled their guns and began shooting.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig made the video available to prove that Littleton was not an innocent victim of police racism or that the police were out of control.
Three officers shot just four times. That seems like a very controlled response in a life and death situation.
At a press conference, Craig explained that officers were attempting to arrest an unrelated man when Littleton told officers, “you are not going to take my man, in other words, take him into custody,” before pulling out a handgun and opening fire on officers.
Littleton fired two shots before officers returned fire. Craig said that Littleton managed to fire two more shots as he fell to the ground. In total, three officers fired just four shots, Craig said.
The police chief explained that video showed Littleton aimed for one officer’s head — but fortunately missed.
