MIAMI, Fla. – A family in Miami is sharing their heartbreak as they say their loved one was wrongfully shot by police officers who say the man was armed, but the family believes a critical video tells a different story.
Antwon Cooper was supposed to turn 35 years old next month. The family said that a sergeant from the Miami Police department shot him in the head at close range.
“He deserves to go to jail for 35 years. My son would have been 35 next month. He took my son, my life. He’s a murderer. He murdered my son,” an angry Tilisha Cooper said.
There is so much pain from the mother who feels that police savagely shot and killed her son.
It happened on March 8 near the intersection of NW 71st Street and 12th Avenue not far from Northwestern High School
At a news conference that day, Miami Police Chief Manny Morales described what happened.
“A short time after the officers became aware that one of the individuals was armed, a struggle ensued and one of the officers discharged his firearm.”
But the family’s attorney said that’s not the whole story. In fact, she said, they have seen unreleased video from a police body-worn camera they say shows something drastically different and much more painful for this family.
“He shot him in the head in close range. He shot him in the head in close range with another officer right there and Mr. Cooper was not brandishing a weapon. Mr. Cooper was not holding a weapon. Mr. Cooper was not attacking an officer. And that sergeant used lethal force,” said Attorney Rawsi Williams, who is representing the family.
Williams said it started with a traffic stop. Cooper didn’t have his driver’s license and only an ID.
There was also possibly confusion over the car’s registration. It then escalated.
Today, Morales said:
“The meeting with Mr. Cooper’s family was incredibly emotional for Assistant Chief Cherise Gause and myself. The loss of life is tragic under any circumstances, and the Miami Police Department holds the sanctity of life at the center of all we do.”
At this point, the police department in Miami has not released the name of the sergeant. They have not told Local 10 News if he remains on the job. We also wanted to know about what’s happening with the investigation. They said they continue to with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigates police-involved shootings and they will continue to cooperate with them.
Williams said the family will be filing a civil rights lawsuit next week.