Police Chief Art Acevedo fired Freeman after an expedited internal investigation. Police arrested 23-year-old Deshawn Thomas in connection with the shooting. I think the police are just like everybody else. Activists called for Freemans quick termination from the Police Department and his swift prosecution. He told me if I found a place that hed be willing to paint on it, Vanessa said. Minutes later, on Feb. 8, Freeman stops his car at 10:25 a.m. as Joseph begins to turn around and, Acevedo said. David Joseph, a 17-year-old Austin resident, was fatally shot by Officer Geoffrey Freeman at about 10:30 a.m. after Freeman was called to an apartment complex for a "disturbance." The. Were here to bring awareness to this issue, said Chas Moore, co-founder of the Austin Justice Coalition. The same day, at 9:21 a.m. a resident calls police to report a male suspect clad in a dark sweatsuit walking behind a fence line. We intend to pursue this matter with the Department of Justice once more., We are on the scene at an officer involved shooting in North Austin. A month later, APD fired Freeman for violating department protocol, including failing to wait for backup. But the people whose jobs it was to care about those things simply did not care. Witnesses told police there was an altercation outside of the Shell gas station across the street that took place before the shooting. 2023 www.statesman.com. One there, Freeman (who also is African American) said he encountered a naked Joseph. Thats not true. We saw the blue wall in the parking structure, said Vanessa pointing to a wall on the side of the building.I was wondering if this building would let us paint on it?. Did he realize that he did something that he could never take back? Vanessa said she has practiced over and over what she would ask him. On January 18, 2016, Daniel Leetin Shaver of Granbury, Texas, was fatally shot by police officer Philip Brailsford in the hallway of a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Mesa, Arizona.Police were responding to a report that a rifle had been pointed out of the window of Shaver's hotel room. This is the first of 2016. The teen had exhibited strange behavior for two months prior to his death, according to an interview given by one of his friends to police. Vanessa also sat down with Austin City Council Member Greg Casar and Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore. This case is also against the city of Austin for its derelict, its dangerous and its unconscionable training regimen.. After again asking Joseph to stop, Joseph reportedly failed to comply and was shot by the officer. The chief and City Manager Marc Ott are the only two who have the power to order an outside agency to investigate if they wanted to. But with Josephs death just a few days before still fresh on their minds and with their emotions stillraw, activists interviewed voiced their hopes for more immediate action. Ketty Sully moved to the United States from Haiti in 1994 with her husband and youngest son, Fally. Freeman was fired in March for violating department policy, but a grand jury declined to indict him in May. A 17-year-old black teen was naked and unarmed when he was fatally shot by a police officer Monday morning in Austin, Texas, police say. The shooting was condemned by the Austin chapter of the NAACP. Her aunt had been calling her for five days to tell her what happened, but Vanessa hadnt answered. Deborah Cannon / American-Statesman, Story by James Barragn Freeman, a patrol officer, has been placed on administrative duty per procedure. I wanted to give his voice back to him., PublishedDecember 19, 2017 at 6:06 AM CST. Freeman was fired but appealed the decision and reached a $35,000 settlement with the city in December. One woman who spoke wore a shirt with a photo of Davids face and the words: Remember David Joseph.. i think we have achieved a lot by just getting the whole council to adjourn their meeting and go outside and mingle with the protesters, Gilliard said. I mean you have a whole race, class of people Caucasians, white people afraid to become minorities. District Attorney Moore told Vanessa that use-of-force laws in the state grant officers a defense against criminal charges. March 17, 2016By Philip Jankowski and Tony Plohetski, Gannett Co., Inc. document.write(new Date().getFullYear());. Boxes of papers and kitchen appliances crowded the floor. All police officers are equipped with Tasers, Chief Art Acevedo said. Part of that investigation involves studying the part of the confrontation captured on a patrol cars dash camera. Vanessa was told to talk to the president of the homeowners association. We need the police and police help us, support us. Having said that, actions speak louder than words.. Joshua James: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, David Joseph: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Any time we have an officer-involved shooting and there is a loss of life this is a tragic event, Assistant Police Chief Brian Manley said at a press conference. She said she aches whenever she sees news reports of violence against officers. Because of the short timeline, Fraiser said she expects interviews with witnesses and Officer Freeman to possibly start next week. To the members of this council and all who are present: My name is Vanessa and I am the cousin of David Joseph, she began. A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austins independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the communitys political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. But when asked if Joseph was known to officers as perhaps having had a history of mental illness -- his lack of clothes at the time of the incident a possible indicator of some mental health issues -- Manley declined to comment. David Joseph, Larry Jackson, should be alive. It doesnt matter. LISTEN: Austin Police Radio Dispatches From David Joseph Shooting. No other information about his record with the department or whether he has held any other law enforcement jobs was immediately released. David Joseph, 17, was unarmed when Austin Police Officer Geoffrey Freeman shot and killed the high school student. A dispatcher told Freeman the 911 caller said somebody jumped a fence and tried to chase a neighbor. The dispatcher described the suspect as a black male, tall, thin, wearing jeans, boxers. The suspect was running after a neighbor toward a gate and then stopped, the dispatcher said. It is very painful.. Freeman has since been fired from the Police Department but is appealing to get his job back. She said her office has put aside other projects to focus on this case for the coming weeks. He appealed that decision and later was paid $35,000 by the city in a settlement. Teen's killing by Austin police raises questions about mental health protocol, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. However, Freeman wasnt prosecuted for the shooting after a grand jury reviewed the case and decided against pressing charges. As much as I know his mom does? We want people to know that Austin is not the liberal haven it pretends to be. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. Email her at audrey@kut.org. Witnesses told Freeman 911 was called after a man was chasing another man through the complex. I know hes not coming back, she said, But I fear every day of my life for Mark and Fally. According to the medical examiners report, David had Xanax and marijuana in his body, neither of which explain his behavior that day. Joseph was shot and killed by Officer Geoffrey Freeman on Feb. 8, 2016 after Freeman responded to a disturbance call in northeast Austin. A Travis County jury last week awarded the family of Landon Nobles $67 million in damages in a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Austin police, who shot the 24-year-old Black man after an altercation on East Sixth Street in May 2017. WATCH: Dashcam video in David Joseph shooting. We cannot live in a country without the police. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The teenager was unarmed. Last week a Dallas-area police officer was arrested on charges of murder and aggravated assault, accused of fatally shooting a 16-year-old and wounding another juvenile while off duty following a car chase. He could have grabbed the gun, and we could have been fighting over it, Freeman said. The question hung in the air awkwardly. AUSTIN, TX The black teenager fatally shot by an Austin police officer Monday morning after a confrontation was unarmed, law enforcement officials confirmed in a Tuesday afternoon press conference. But those things dont seem to be enough. Who is graffitiing I was raped, I am OK in ATX? The day before Freeman shot Joseph, the teen spoke with his friends mother over the phone, according to her interview with police. Fally Joseph said he has started talking to people in the community about how to avoid future incidents like his brothers. The city subsequently settled resulting lawsuits for nearly $2 million, the bulk of which went to Jacksons children. But she said talking about David with strangers, however uncomfortable it is, has helped. And second, Freeman initially told investigators that he didnt have enough time to transition from his gun to a stun gun or pepper spray. So yesterdays events, as with all our officer-involved shootings, are tragedies that we look to avoid when possible.. If her son had been white, she said, he would have been perceived as less of a threat and the officer would have done everything in his power to protect them. "It's scary, you know, of course. Michael Ramos should be alive. We are shocked and saddened that he was taken from us in an unexpected and violent way, and are struggling to understand how our child was stolen from us by the police, his family said in a statement. He played football and soccer for his school, and loved to listen to music. #LongLivePronto pic.twitter.com/KQwNgCETM4, LongLivePronto (@ysn_glomez) February 9, 2016. 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