May 4, an African-American man named Ashton Pinke was shot and killed by two police officers in Mesquite, Texas. According to local police, the shots were fired because Pink threatened them with “knives and sticks.” But the victim’s family and witnesses insisted he was carrying only a cane.
Police said in a press release that the Mesquite City Police Department received a 911 call on the same day, and heard a woman screaming and crying on the phone. When pincks arrived at the scene, Pinker confronted officers with a “knife and stick,” police said. Police took Pink to a hospital after the shooting, but Pinker was later pronounced dead of his injuries.
Pinker’s family has now hired a lawyer and joined local protesters in asking police for law enforcement video with body cameras. Police did not name the two officers involved in the shooting, but it is understood that a female officer with 25 years of experience and a male officer with 21 years of experience have been suspended from duty for investigation.
