STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Newly released, unedited footage of moments before Christian Hall, a Chinese-American teenager, was shot dead by Pennsylvania state police last December is prompting a new independent investigation.
Hall, 19, was shot on a highway overpass on December 30, 2020, while holding what appeared to be a real gun but turned out to be a pellet gun. An initial statement from the state police stated that the soldiers fired their guns in response to Hall pointing the gun at them, but footage released by the Monroe County District Attorney’s office in March blurred and edited the last seconds of the video before shooting.
New unanswered video, taken by Spotlight PA and NBC News from Hall’s parents, Fe and Gareth Hall, shows Hall holding his hands above his head for 14 seconds, with the gun pointed at the police.
With their hands still raised, the soldiers fired a barrage of guns at Hall. His hand just barely covered his stomach before collapsing to the ground.
Ben Crump, the attorney representing the Hall family and also representing the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, said his legal team “had to work tirelessly” for nearly a year to get the paragraph. unanswered video.
Crump said in a statement to USA TODAY Network. “In this case, we now know the terrible answer. The truth behind the most central facts of this case has been hidden by the Hall family, our team, and the public.”
The statement added: “Pennsylvania State Police attempted to sell a version of events in which Christian was walking towards them and pointing a gun allegedly at them – but now we and the world know that Christian did not move towards the officer and in fact raised his arm in a surrender position as he was shot repeatedly and unnecessarily.”
‘Don’t kill us anymore’:Attacks on Asian Americans highlight rise in hate crimes amid COVID-19
The Monroe County DA’s office, finding the police shooting justified, refused to request an external review from the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
In Pennsylvania, local DAs investigate police shootings, and the attorney general cannot step in without an invitation.
Congressman Malcolm Kenyatta of Pennsylvania, who spoke about Hall’s shooting at a march in Monroe County and a protest in Philadelphia, said Thursday that District Attorney E. David Christine Jr should use himself and let the attorney general’s office conduct “a thorough and fair investigation.”
Interest: Who investigates police homicides in PA, and why are there so few checks and balances?
“What we need right now is justice for his family, and something can be done now. DA can only do the right thing,” says Kenyatta.
Contribution: Celina Tebor, USA TODAY
