“This is a classic example of ‘shoot first, ask questions later,’” Ben Crump, one of the attorneys representing the Adams family, said at a news conference Wednesday, adding, “What we saw was a young man who was unnecessarily and unjustifiably. was murdered.”
“I just want answers,” Adams’ mother, Tamika Deavila King, told the conference, waving to the crowd gathered behind her. “This is all his family. My son was very loved.”
Police say two uniformed officers drove to a parking lot in an unmarked car to conduct surveillance after receiving a tip from an informant about the location. When officers pulled into the lot, police say Adams began walking toward the car with a gun in his hand.
Adams is seen on surveillance footage walking toward the officers holding an object.
When the officers got out of the car, they gave Adams “verbal commands” and briefly chased him as Adams “immediately ran toward two parked vehicles with the gun in his right hand,” San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman said. , in an update.
“Seeing he had no way out, they believed he intended to use the vehicle as cover to shoot at them,” Goodman said. “The officer saw Adams looking over his left shoulder with the gun still in his right hand. Fearing that bystanders or the officers’ lives were in danger, one of the officers fired his weapon, striking Adams.”
The first few seconds of dashcam footage of the officer who shot Adams has no sound, so it’s unclear whether the officers identified themselves or what orders they may have given him. Goodman says witnesses confirmed that officers gave Adams commands, but did not elaborate on what the officers said.
Crump criticized the actions of the police in the video, noting that the officers’ car could not be identified as a police vehicle and that the officers quickly drew their weapons when they exited the vehicle.
Surveillance video shows Adams running from officers between two cars parked against a brick wall. Body-worn footage shows Adams holding an object in his hand as he runs from officers.
A loaded handgun was found at the scene, Goodman said, noting that the location of the shooting has a history of criminal activity, including an incident involving Adams as a suspect.
King says she was on the phone with her son at the time of the shooting and described hearing it unfold over the phone. She believes her son was holding his cell phone in his hand and not a gun.
“I was on the phone and all I heard after that was gunshots. He never said goodbye,” she said.
A protest is planned for 7pm on Saturday.
An internal administrative investigation is underway by the police department, Goodman said. Once that investigation is complete, it will be sent to the DA’s office for a full review. This independent assessment will be made public. The process typically takes several months, according to Jacquelyn Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office.
The California Department of Justice is aware of the incident but is not currently investigating, according to an email from the Attorney General’s press office.
