Protestors demand justice in 78-year old's NYPD shooting death
BROOKLYN - Demands for justice echoed through Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy on Monday, just days after 2 NYPD officers shot and killed 78-year-old man feet from his front door.
"It’s an unfortunate situation when a police officer has to fire his or her weapon," said Phil Banks, NYC’s Deputy Mayor of Public Safety.
But this shooting appears to have struck an emotional chord for members of the New York Community Action Project.
Members of the organization advocated for the family of Caesar Robinson, the only casualty in three separate officer-involved shootings last Thursday.
RELATED: 3 separate police-involved shootings occur in one day across NYC
Police say body cam footage shows the officers responded to a call for a burglary on Lewis Avenue from the 78-year-old’s nephew.
When they arrived at Robinson’s door, he opened the door and shortly after revealed a gun, pointed it at officers and took steps toward them. Officers shot him multiple times resulting in his death.
As the state’s attorney general’s investigation into the shooting remains open, protestors called for what they see as more accountability for police.
"The person on whose behalf the police were called ended up dying and that’s unforgivable," said Shivani Ishwar, a member of the New York Community Action Project.
"We’re going to demand Justice for the 78-year-old black man that got murdered by the police," said Malik Callender of Stop the Killing Bed-Stuy.
Ishwar told FOX 5 NY that she believes the ultimate deterrent to this tragedy is training.
"Need to be trained better or need to be replaced with officers who can handle that in a way that deescalates the situation rather than adding more violence," she shared.
The NYPD hasn’t stated whether they’d release the body cam footage from the shooting or if they’d share the identity of the officers involved.
Both, however, were demands for protestors.