The following statement was issued this evening by Jeffrey Lichtman, attorney for the wife, mother and family of George Tillman.
“I
have represented members of law enforcement for over 25-years and have
great respect for the work they do and the risks they take in protecting
the communities of New York. However, it strongly defies logic how
George Tillman – a licensed electrician with a career, five young
children he cared for and a follower of the Christian faith – can end up
being shot 13 times in front of his wife by officers
who were investigating an open container of alcohol. I have seen video
of the confrontation and it appears to be an execution. I have spoken
to multiple witnesses who were with George that night and when he was
killed. No one saw him with a gun at any time.
Other witnesses claimed he was running away when he was shot down by
the officers. Regardless, 13 bullets struck George, including one to
his temple, from the guns of multiple officers when just the other day
officers in Brooklyn shot someone
in the hand after they claimed he pulled a gun on them while they
attempted to serve a warrant. Whatever the NYPD claims happened that
night ended up with a deadly overreaction which was either purposeful or
due to poor training. The NYPD's response,
immediately tweeting a picture of the gun alleged to have been in
George's possession, has not included any contact to the family or any
efforts to return their property. It is hard not to see this response
as suspect.”
“An
independent investigation is needed here because we are now in a day
and age in which the NYPD simply cannot be trusted to police their own
after such a deadly encounter. Every day we pick up the papers and
there is more corruption, more cover-ups and more malfeasance by the
very people who are entrusted to protect us. And the corruption and bad
behavior is increasing, not lessening. We ask
Governor Cuomo to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the
killing of George Tillman and provide this family the justice that was
denied George.”
Note: Details on the shooting of George Tillman are available here.
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