Family of DeKalb County man killed in officer-involved shooting marks his birthday with a rally
Chris Ann Lewis, the mother of Matthew Zadok Williams, releases birthday balloons to honor her son, who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in April. (Photo: FOX 5 Atlanta)
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The family of a man shot and killed by DeKalb County police held a rally the day after what would have been his 36th birthday.
The family of Matthew Zadok Williams — killed in an officer-involved shooting April 12 on Terrace Trail — said they will protest each Wednesday at noon in front of DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, demanding District Attorney Sherry Boston indict the DeKalb County Police officer they said is at fault, Sgt. Devon Perry.
Zadok Williams' mother, Chris Ann Lewis, spoke during the rally while holding a sign that read "A MOTHER'S TEARS MATTER!"
She and her daughter said the DeKalb County Police Department, thus far, has not been held accountable.
"My question is — to Sgt. Perry — why did a black man have to die?" Chris Ann Lewis said "Why did Zadok have to die?"
Lewis was paraphrasing words captured by a DeKalb County Police Department body camera.
In the body camera footage, an officer is heard pleading with Williams.
"Please, sir. I’m begging you. I’m a Black man, you’re a Black man. You don’t have to die today. I don’t want you to die today," the officer says.
SEE MORE: 'My brother should be alive': Man killed by police, family says cops could have saved him
The family said was he having a mental health crisis and they wish the police would have gotten him help.
The family said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation completed its probe into the shooting in DeKalb County where Williams' family said he lived.
Police shot and killed Williams in April after they got a call about a man with a large knife at an apartment complex on Terrace Trail in Decatur.
Williams' family and representation have met with DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, calling for the release of footage from officers' body cameras.
DeKalb County police allegedly thought the house Williams ran into was vacant.
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