Brooklyn Neighborhood Is 'A Powder Keg' After Teen Killed By Police
Killed
brooklyn neighborhood 'a powder keg' teen kill police
Brooklyn Neighborhood Is 'A Powder Keg' After Teen <m> Killed </m> By Police
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Brooklyn Neighborhood Is 'A Powder Keg' After Teen <m> Killed </m> By Police
MAR . 14 , 2013 , 8 : 12 PM
Hostility has been mounting this week in East Flatbush , Brooklyn , after two plainclothes police officers fatally shot 16 - year - old Kimani Gray after he allegedly pointed a revolver at them on Saturday night .
On Monday a group of about 130 people were marching toward the 67th Police Precinct station when about two dozen young protesters splintered off — drawing riot police — and trashed a Rite Aid .
Tuesday the crowd was mostly calm , but on Wednesday — the same day Gray's autopsy showed he had been shot seven times — part of the 200 person crowd became unruly .
The night began with hope that Gray's mother would speak at a vigil alongside mothers of local shooting victims , but the night turned when about 30 young men showed up in the shadows across the street .
"They were staying in the dark area of the street , " a witness told CNN .
"You just knew it was going to turn into the cops trying to contain those kids who were obviously gonna go for it .
That just stopped the original intention of the night . "
The witness said the teenagers suddenly took off , fanning through streets and side streets , followed by the sound of glass breaking and metal store - front gates being pulled down .
Protesters began throwing bricks and bottles while cops began pepper - spraying and arresting .
By the end an officer's face and the window of a police van had been hit with bricks , and 46 people had been arrested .
The string of incidents has amplified the distrustful friction between the neighborhood's informal crews of armed teenagers and its aggressive police , whom residents say make prejudiced decisions based on race .
Kenneth J . Montgomery , an attorney for the Gray family , told the LA Times that the police "patrol these neighborhoods like they ’ re paramilitary . ”
“ [ The police ] have a hard time because there ’ s a lot of crime in the neighborhood , ” a local barber told The New York Times .
“ But when they play hardball , they end up going after innocent people , too . ”
Police say that on Saturday around 11 : 30 p . m . Kimani Gray was standing outside his home with five other young men before splitting off when he noticed two plainclothes officers in an unmarked car .
After he "adjusted his waistband and continued to act in a suspicious manner , ” officials say the cops got out of their car and approached Gray — who allegedly turned toward them with a loaded . 38 - caliber revolver in hand .
The 30 - year - old sergeant and 26 - year - old fired 11 shots — the autopsy showed that seven bullets entered Gray's body , three of them from the rear .
A revolver loaded with four bullets was reportedly recovered from the scene .
Police commissioner Raymond Kelly told the New York Times there was “ nothing to indicate that this shooting was outside the guidelines ” while John C . Cerar , the former commander for firearms training at the Police Department , said "it appears to be a good shooting ” under the reported circumstances .
That statement doesn't pacify neighborhood residents , who question the official story — some in the community don't believe Gray had a gun — and perceive the officers' behavior as part of a larger trend of NYPD antagonism .
“ We ’ re talking about a powder keg out here .
Any incident could trigger it , ” City Councilman Charles Barron told the LA Times .
On Wednesday tensions "seemed to be decreasing until Mahnefah Gray , sister of the teen killed by police , was arrested while crossing the street , " according to Danny Gold of Metropolis .