Supossed as a burglar Joe Frasure Jr. 28, has died after being shot by Ohio police – but the family says he had been cleaning out his late grandmother’s home.
An Ohio man has died after being shot by police who believed he was a burglar, while cleaning out his dead grandmother’s apartment, family members say.
Joe Frasure Jr, 28, was shot on Monday. He died on Tuesday.
The Hamilton county sheriff’s office initially investigated the shooting before the case taken over by the county prosecutor, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Police in Wyoming, a city outside Cincinnati, encountered Joe Frasure Jr. 28, while responding about 1 a.m. Monday to a 911 call that a few people were trying to break into an apartment on Durrell Avenue, NBC News reported. According to a press release, police say officers responded to a 911 call about a possible break-in involving two to three people, NBC News reported.
A neighbor placed the call, saying the apartment should have been empty.
When officers arrived, they encountered Frasure and his father at the back of the building. where the younger man refused orders to get out of a minivan, Police Chief Brooke Brady said.
“The minivan reversed at a high rate of speed, before hitting a tree, at which point the vehicle accelerated rapidly at our officers,” according to the news outlet.
Police say officers suspected Frasure was a burglar. Frasure’s family say he was simply cleaning out the apartment after his grandmother’s death. “The officers fired four shots at the minivan as the minivan was accelerating towards them,” she added.
Frasure Jr. was struck by the gunfire and the vehicle slammed into the building, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office.
“With the vehicle smoking and the engine still running, our officers forced their way into the minivan and pulled Mr. Frasure from it. They then provided life-saving care and he was transported to University Hospital,” Brady said. Frasure was shot at least once in the head. He was transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he died.
Police said Frasure was aiming a minivan at officers when he was shot. The man’s family said he and his dad were just helping his sister clear out the apartment where their grandmother lived before she died recently, WLWT reported.
“I didn’t hear no commands. All I heard is pop, pop, pop, pop. Like, it was, like, 10 rounds,” his sister Shonda Coleman told WLWT, as she refuted the police chief’s account.
On Wednesday, Frasure’s family held a small protest outside the Wyoming police department, calling for justice and release of video.
“I want to know why they killed my brother,” said Joe Frasure Jr, Frasure Jr’s identically named half-brother. “I want to see the video.
“My brother was a father, a brother, a son, a family member. A loving friend. Please help me get Justice for my brother, please. Help me. Please help me.”
Lisa Fisher, Frasure’s mother, said: “I want answers from them … I want the body-cam and everything.” his family have demanded release of video of the encounter. “I want all the cops that was here, every one of them that was here, I want their information,” she added. Police officials have said video of the encounter will be release on Friday. The officers involved have not been identified.
Source: The Guardian, New York Post
