Joseph Mann's family is asking for murder charges against the Sacramento police officers involved in his fatal shooting three months ago.
“This is a sad day for my family, this is a sad day for America, that we got police with this type of mindset that come out here on the scene and their whole mindset is to kill,” said Mann’s brother, Robert Mann, according to CBS Sacramento.
Mann, who reportedly had mental health and drug problems, was shot on July 11. Police videos show him acting strangely and holding a knife as he walked in the street, and officers reportedly attempted to run him down in their police cruiser, according to CNN.
An audio enhancement performed by the Sacramento Bee and the Sacramento News and Review revealed the officers' conversation as they approached Mann in their car. One of them says “I’m gonna hit him!” and another responds “Go for it,” the newspaper reported.
“Here we have the mindset of the officers,” John Burris, the family’s attorney, said, according to CBS Sacramento. “We have the officers saying clearly what’s on their minds.”
Burris is calling for the two officers involved to be prosecuted under state murder charges.
“You don’t get to shoot somebody because they don’t drop the knife if they are 27 feet away!” Burris said.
Robert Mann has said that his brother had mental health issues, and that officers didn’t have the right to shoot and kill him.
“You can clearly see my brother had issues,” Robert said during a press conference on Monday, according to CNN. “His issues shouldn’t have warranted his death that day by two rogue officers who decided to play judge and jury on their own…What they did was clear murder.”
The Sacramento Police Department released a statement, saying that they extend their “condolences to those impacted by the shooting and believe that any loss of life is a tragedy.”
“If deemed necessary, the department welcomes a review of the case by any state or federal law enforcement authority.”
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