*TEXAS CITY, Tex. – Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump released the following statement on the bodycam footage of the killing of Joshua Feast, a 22-year-old Black man, who was shot to death by La Marque police officer Jose Santos on Dec. 9, 2020, as he was running away, posing no threat.
“Today, the City of La Marque released the video footage captured by Officer Jose Santos’ body camera on the night he shot and killed Joshua Feast. As we had previously suspected, Officer Santos didn’t give Joshua any verbal commands, but shot him in the back as he tried to run away. This footage portrays one thing: A defenseless man was shot in the back when he had not disobeyed a single lawful command and posed no threat to the officer.
“What the video does not show is what was depicted in the story told to CBS News by Sheriff Trochessett, the head of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office investigation. Sheriff Trochessett, when interviewed by the media two days after the shooting, stated that his investigators told him the video (which he said he had not seen at the time) showed Joshua Feast pointing a gun at Jose Santos before Santos shot and killed him. He also stated that investigators told him that Feast was running towards the officers before turning and running away. The bodycam footage released today shows no such thing. There was no other officer on the scene at the time, so there is only one body cam video capturing the shooting itself. This leads us to conclude that members of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office—who are responsible for investigating the actions of this officer absent bias or predisposition—instead lied regarding the evidence revealed by the body cam video in order to taint and twist the narrative in the press, offers a justification for Santos’ actions and untruthfully attack the character of the deceased, Joshua Feast.
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“If there is any other footage that supports the claims of the investigators as stated by Sheriff Trochessett, it has not been shown to the Feast family nor released to the public, and should be immediate. Otherwise, we are left with what is right in front of our eyes.
“Because it is clear that the Sheriff’s department cannot be trusted to evaluate and relay the evidence truthfully and impartially, we demand oversight from the Texas Attorney General and an independent investigation from the Department of Justice.
“The body cam footage, which LMPD has had since the night Joshua Feast was killed, documents not only a senseless shooting but an officer who refused to render aid to a dying man. Given those facts, coupled with Santos’ propensity to use excessive force against Black people as evidenced in the 2013 video, it’s outrageous that Officer Santos’ employment still has not been terminated, and it’s a disrespect to the Feast family, citizens whose rights law enforcement has a duty to protect. Santos should be fired immediately for gross misconduct and charged for the killing of Joshua Feast.”
ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
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