On Thursday (Sept. 1), bodycam footage was released showing LAPD officers shooting a Black man who they knew was unarmed. On July 18, Jermaine Petit was walking down a street in a residential Los Angeles neighborhood when someone called 911 and reported that a Black man was carrying a gun.
According to NBC News, the caller told the dispatcher, “I got a dark-skinned guy with dreadlocks. He has a flannel shirt on.” They continued, “And I told him to leave and he pulled out a gun. It looked like a black semi-automatic gun.” The caller added, “I told him to leave and he asked me, ‘I’ll leave when I want. You can leave.’ And then, all of a sudden, I saw a pistol in his hand.” Sgt. Brett Hayhoe and officer Daryl Glover of the LAPD responded to the scene.
While following Petit on foot, the officers ordered him to stop. Although Petit walks away from the officers, one can be heard in the footage telling the other that the suspect is not armed. “It’s not a gun, bro,” one cop says. Petit tells the LAPD officers that he is only carrying a car part. Moments later, the unarmed man is shot. In the footage, a patrol car drives along the suspect and officers. Sources say the gunfire came from an officer in the vehicle.
Drive-by shooting BY the #LAPD.
They shot Jermaine Petit, a non-violent unarmed man with known mental health issues.
He was carrying a broken car part, which one officer identified as "NOT A GUN".
THIS VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PPL HAS TO END. pic.twitter.com/JbhAhyxshc
— Omar Elwafaii (@OmarElwafaii) September 3, 2022
“Drive-by shooting BY the #LAPD. They shot Jermaine Petit, a non-violent unarmed man with known mental health issues. He was carrying a broken car part, which one officer identified as ‘NOT A GUN’ THIS VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PPL HAS TO END,” one tweet read.
LAPD spokesperson Kelly Muñiz released a statement saying that Petit kept walking after being told to stop. “Petit refused to comply with the officers’ commands and instead continued to walk away,” the spokesperson said. After being shot by the police, the unarmed Black man was arrested. Petit was charged with resisting an officer and assault with a deadly weapon upon a police officer.
Thankfully, Jermaine Petit lived. Sadly, the LAPD charged him with:
• Assault w/deadly weapon against a police officer
He did NOT have a weapon. He did NOT assault a police officer. But *Internal Affairs* booked him on these absurd charges anyway. pic.twitter.com/TbFgJc6hho
— Film The Police LA (@FilmThePoliceLA) September 4, 2022
An @LAPDHQ Sergeant swooping in and *shooting out the window of his car while still driving with one hand* at a Black man the officers on foot already knew was unarmed feels like it should be a much bigger story. #JermainePetit https://t.co/UIGPMqJUT2
— sahra (@sahrasulaiman) September 4, 2022