ADOLPH GRIMES SHOT BY NEW ORLEANS POLICE FOUR YEARS AGO; FAMILY DOES NOT BELIEVE SHOOTING JUSTIFIED (2216 hits)
LOUISIANA--On New Year's morning in New Orleans in 2009, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes III was killed by nine undercover police officers in a shooting just down the block from his grandmother's house. Grimes was shot at 48 times and hit 14 times. Twelve of those rounds, according to the coroner's report and CNN, were to the back.
Police contend that Grimes shot at them. They simply returned fire, killing him.
But Grimes had just left his grandmother's house. His grandmother and father say he was waiting for his cousin in his rented SUV at 3 a. m. when gunfire erupted.
The police officers were part of narcotics task force patrolling the city New Year's morning.
Adolph Grimes was a New Orleans native who had evacuated during Hurricane Katrina and settled in Houston, Texas. He had been a good high school student and had no criminal record. He rented the SUV New Year's Eve and drove to New Orleans - a five-hour drive -- to be with his family on New Year's, which was a family tradition.
His father, Adolph Grimes Jr., said he made it with a second to spare.
Three hours later, he was dead.
Police say they found a handgun on Grimes and a shotgun in the back of the SUV. Grimes had a permit to carry a handgun. It is unclear whether the handgun found by the police was registered to Grimes or not.
In fact, many things about the shooting of Grimes remain unclear. The family says the New Orleans police have not told them anything. All they want are answers. They contacted the FBI shortly after the shooting, feeling that the New Orleans police were involved in wrongdoing.
Patricia, Grimes' mother said, "It was like someone was a murderer, and they finally caught him. I ain't ever seen anything like this. And the worst part about it was I had to wait for the 5 o'clock news to find out my son was murdered."
The family's attorney, Robert Jenkins, said, "We know the FBI is going to do a fully complete investigation. We are hoping that criminal charges will be brought against all of these officers for the execution in this case."
The family does not believe the official story that they were told. They do not believe that Grimes shot at the undercover police officers. The family believes police shot him while he ran for his life. They are confident that the truth will come out in the investigation now that the FBI are involved and that Grimes name will be cleared. They say they're not worried about the legendary police 'code of silence'-- the so-called 'Blue Wall.'
Grimes father told CNN, "The walls are going to come down. Just like the walls of Jericho came down."
Over a week after Adolph Grimes was killed, an official representative from the New Orleans Police Department had yet to visit and explain the incident to the family.
Adoph Grimes death in New Orleans seems to mirror that of Oscar Grant, who was also killed early on New Year's Day in Oakland. Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old butcher, was shot once in the back by a BART police officer while he was being restrained by another. At least two videos were shot of the incident, the clearest of which has been played millions of times on the internet on countless news broadcasts.
Oscar Grant died from the shot.
The shooting resembles an execution.
Johannes Mehserle, the BART officer shown in the video shooting Grant, has resigned. However, he has still not been charged. He has yet to be questioned.
Public outrage led to protests and demonstrations. Wednesday night (January 7), the demonstrations turned to rioting, resulting in 105 arrests and 300 businesses sustaining damage.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office says it will make a decision on whether or not to charge the BART officer for the shooting within two weeks.
Two police-related killings. Two cities. Two young men. Both cities' authorities slow to provide answers for the families. And those families simply want to know the answer to one question: Why?
