“He was Begging for His Life:" Witnesses say White Minneapolis Cops Murdered Unarmed Black Man by Shooting Him in the Back as He Fled - Government Keeps BodyCam Secret
/From [HERE] and [HERE] On Saturday, June 23, 2018, Minneapolis Police officers shot and killed 31-year-old father, Thurman ‘Jun’ Blevins, in the Camden neighborhood of north Minneapolis. The police and the mayor’s version of events place Blevins with a gun, yet all witness statements contradict that and say he was simply drinking during a nice day with his partner, his baby, and his dog on the corner of 48th and Camden Avenues when he was approached and killed.
Reportedly responding to 911 calls of someone in the neighborhood shooting a gun, police officers pulled up to 48th and Camden and witnesses say, hopped out of their car with their guns drawn, tased Thurman who then ran away and was subsequently shot by police a couple blocks later.
As calls continued Monday for the release of body camera footage from the Saturday police shooting of a black man in Minneapolis, cops say that a handgun was discovered next to his body.
All 13 members of the City Council called on the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to release all related evidence, including bodycam footage, “as soon as legally possible.”
“We, too, have many questions and call for full transparency about what took place before and what led to this tragedy. Expediency and integrity are key to transparency and building trust,” they said in a statement.
Blevins, 31, died at 5:35 p.m. of “multiple gunshot wounds” in the alley behind 4746 Bryant Av. N., according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office. Witnesses said they heard a series of shots fired before Blevins was killed.
A police department source told the Star Tribune that two officers fired, and a handgun was lying next to Blevins’ hand. Police recovered two different sets of shell casings at the scene, indicating that both officers fired their weapons. At least one of the officers activated his body camera.
Two sources identified the officers as Ryan Kelly, who was hired by the department in October 2013, and Justin Schmidt, hired in July 2014. Both are on standard paid administrative leave. Police spokesman John Elder declined to comment Monday, saying it would be inappropriate to do so before the officers’ names are released by the BCA, the state agency handling the investigation. Apparently both are white.
Archway Defense has since removed Schmidt’s photos from its website and changed his name from “Justin” to “Jason” there and on social media. The organization tweeted on Monday in defense of Minneapolis police.
Archway founder Peter Johnson declined to comment about Schmidt but said in a statement that Archway “is focused on creating a paradigm shift in the way defense training is conducted.”
“I will say that on a personal level, it’s sad to see a continued media bias against law enforcement nationwide,” the statement read. [how stupid]
Dispatchers relayed information from four 911 calls to the officers before they encountered Blevins. The first two calls were about a man with a handgun described as a silver 9mm. The third call gave a specific description of the man’s age, height and clothing. The last call said the man was shooting his gun into the ground and air, the department source said.
On scanner audio, a dispatcher describes “an intoxicated male walking around shooting a gun in the air” at 46th and Lyndale avenues N. The gun was described as a silver 9mm with chrome at the top.
When squads arrived a short time later, one of them radioed that he was running after the suspect.
“Chasing one, 48th-Aldrich, westbound, man has a gun,” the officer said over the radio. Shortly afterward: “Shots fired, shots fired, one down,” he said, calling for medics.”
