*A bad situation is happening in Memphis where the Wednesday night shooting of a young black man by a US Marshals Service officer sparked violent protests that caused property damage and injuries to at least 24 police officers.
“Let me be clear — the aggression shown towards our officers and deputies tonight was unwarranted,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland (D).
It seems Mayor Strickland’s concern isn’t as felt by other local leaders such as state Rep. Antonio Parkinson (D) who urged patience and demanded a thorough investigation into the killing.
“The community wants answers into tonight’s incident,” said Rep. Parkinson, who also called for “complete transparency in the investigation of tonight’s officer involved shooting.”
Specifically, the incident went down Wednesday evening around 7pm local time in the Frayser neighborhood of Memphis. The man killed, was identified as 20-year-old Brandon Webber. He was being served multiple felony warrants by the Marshal Service’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and other law enforcement agencies, according to police.
Here more via the Washington Post:
Webber rammed into the marshals’ car and then displayed a weapon, said Keli McAlister, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, in a news conference early Thursday. She added that it was unclear how many marshals had fired at the 20-year-old. The Memphis Police Department said none of its officers were involved in the shooting.
“This remains a very fluid situation,” McAlister told The Washington Post.
Demetrick Skinner, a cousin of Webber’s, and Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer each said that Webber was shot as many as 20 times before dying in his family’s front yard, according to the Daily Memphian. Yolanda Holmes, his aunt, told the Daily Memphian that the family was trying to confirm what exactly happened.
“This is crazy,” Skinner, his cousin, told the outlet.
Earlier on Wednesday night, a man who claimed to be close to Webber posted a video to Twitter of him confronting police officers who had formed a barricade in the streets.
“My cousin down there, laying in the street!” the man yelled. “Laying in the yard!”
As darkness took over the city, news of the shooting began to spread through Frayser, protests broke out, resulting in a standoff between authorities and hundreds of inflamed residents, the Post resports. On one side, police stood shoulder to shoulder holding riot shields. On the other were angry crowds, shouting at officers. Some protesters hurled bottles, rocks and bricks, police said.
The scene was definitely chatoc. In once instance, two men used a folding chair to smash out the back window of a police car. Another man appears to spit at officers. It was captured on video and was spread on social media.
Just saw 2 guys smash a police car with a chair. @3onyourside pic.twitter.com/Am5dcL2V5i
— Luke Jones (@LukeJonesTV) June 13, 2019
Intense moments in Frayser after an officer involved shooting with a US Marshal. pic.twitter.com/Rik65Ns5IB
— Katina Rankin (@Local24Katina) June 13, 2019
After police fired tear gas into the area, the crowd dispersed. Later, a rain storm completely emptied the streets.
But it’s not over. Read/learn MORE at Washington Post.
