Mother questions what led up to son's shooting death by police officer
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The mother of a young man who was shot to death by an Atlanta police officer has questions about what led up to her son's death.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the Atlanta Police officer tried to arrest Oscar Cain Jr. in the early morning hours of March 31 after investigating a report of an armed man.
Tuesday evening, family and friends gathered for a vigil held at the Dunbar Recreation Center in Atlanta.
"We don't know what happened out there," said attorney Mawuli Davis, who was retained by Cain's mother.
According to the GBI, the officer chased Cain toward Connell Avenue SW where he didn't obey verbal commands and reportedly showed a firearm.
That's when the officer shot and killed Cain.
Cain's mother questions that police narrative.
"If you have the cameras wear them. That's what they are for, so we won't be asking what happened because if they had the body camera we would know," said Jacqueline Sanders, Cain's mother.
She describes her son as a community activist who advocated for officers to wear body cams.
"It is very ironic and interesting that an advocate like Oscar who advocated for body cameras, who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with organizers throghout the city and throughout the country for police accountability, himself falls prey," said Davis.
Ironically, she and her attorney said the officer who fired the fatal shot didn't have his body cam turned on at the time.
The Atlanta Police Department, in a statement sent to FOX 5 News, confirmed the camera's status. They sent a statement that read in part:
"As a result, Chief Shields has directed the Department's Body Worn Camera Unit to immediately begin the process of procuring a body-worn camera system that automatically activates the camera when an officer unholsters their firearm. The chief believes transparency in these incidents is of the utmost importance and believes the Department should turn to a system that does not rely on an officer to activate the camera during a potentially stressful, dangerous or rapidly-unfolding situation."
The GBI is investigating the case. That is standard procedure for the city for a police-involved shooting. The GBI will then turn over their findings to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. As for the officer, APD said he has returned to full dutry after being placed on administrative leave.
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