One family is demanding answers after police shot a New Orleans man to death on New Year’s Day.
The Orleans Parish coroner said Adolph Grimes III was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back, CNN reports.
Adolph, who relocated to Texas with his fiancée and their 17-month old son after Hurricane Katrina, was in New Orleans to spend New Year’s Eve with his family. His father told CNN that Adolph made it in just before the clock struck 12 on New Year’s Day.
Adolph walked out of the house about three hours later and was waiting in his car for a cousin when nine plainclothes officers surrounded his vehicle. The cops were part of narcotics task force patrolling New Orleans that night.
Police claim that Adolph was the first one to fire, but his family doesn’t believe it, calling his death an execution.
"It was like someone was a murderer, and they finally caught him," Adolph’s mother, Patricia Grimes, told CNN. "I ain’t ever seen anything like this. And the worst part about it was I had to wait for the 5:00 news to find out my son was murdered."
Investigators say they found a shotgun and extra ammunition in Adolph’s trunk, but according to the family’s lawyer, he had a legal permit to carry it.
The Grimes family asked the FBI to investigate the shooting because they want to know why police would gun down a Bible study teacher with no police record.
"We are hoping for a thorough investigation by the NOPD and the district attorney’s office," the family’s attorney, Robert Jenkins, told CNN. " 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."
Robert said that 48 bullet casings were found at the scene of the shooting. Police are not confirming or denying that number, and they’re not commenting on the case. However, New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley defended the actions of his officers. ”We train our officers to fire when fired upon. We train them to fire more than one shot,” he told CNN.
– Sonya Eskridge
Photo and video courtesy of CNN
