Black people can never expect Justice. That is why the family of Tyrell Wilson who was murdered in cold blood by a Danville cop have wasted no time. The family filed a lawsuit in Federal court today.
The saddest part is that that the courts will never bring Tyrell Wilson back to life.
Instead, the killer cop walks the streets a free man.
Diane Wilson, Tyrell Wilson’s mother grieves her son’s murder by Danville cop
Excerpted from San Francisco Chronicle 4.6.2021
The family of Tyrell Wilson, a 33-year-old Black man shot by a Danville police officer last month, has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city.
“Instead of protecting life, defendant Hall murdered Mr. Wilson, with malice aforethought,” the lawsuit by civil rights attorney John Burris states.
People express sadness and outrage over murder of black man by Danville cop
It comes a day after a bystander’s cellphone video surfaced, showing Wilson and Danville police Officer Andrew Hall standing feet apart in the intersection of Sycamore Valley Road and Camino Ramon, shortly before noon on March 11.
Wilson family attorney Burris displayed large still frames from the video that showed the position of the two men before and after Hall fired his gun while addressing reporters at the Sycamore Park and Ride parking lot near the site of the shooting.
Burris emphasized that he seldom labels a shooting as murder, even if he disagrees with the officer’s actions. “I don’t make that argument very often, but I do make it here,” the attorney said. “This is a situation which was clearly avoidable.”
Wilson’s mother, Diane Wilson, stood behind Burris in the parking lot, along with other family members, advocates and a pastor from the nearby city of Antioch. Through tears, she characterized her son as a kindhearted person with no history of aggression.
“I do not want to see the video,” Diane Wilson said. “I want my last thought and pictures of my son to be the beautiful man he is — or was.”
In addition to demanding unspecified damages, Burris seeks Hall’s termination, which would be up to the sheriff’s office — not the court.
The complaint alleges a series of missteps by the officer — such as not attempting to create space between himself and Wilson, and not taking cover after Wilson allegedly drew a folding knife. It contends that Hall “never made any effort to use reasonable de-escalation tactics, instead shooting Mr. Wilson in the face.”
In the wobbly recording, Hall appears to step toward Wilson as Wilson backs away. For a moment, the cellphone camera dips behind the door frame. When it gets both men back in sight, Hall fires once and Wilson collapses on his back.
Hall had driven to the area that morning to respond to several calls at 11:48 a.m. reporting a person throwing rocks from the Sycamore Valley Road freeway overpass onto Interstate 680. When he arrived, Hall found Wilson standing in the street.
While police have released no evidence so far linking Wilson to the alleged rock throwing, the department published still photographs on its Facebook page of the unhoused man identified as Wilson clutching a knife in his right hand and gripping a shopping bag in his left.
Police said that Hall yelled commands for Wilson to drop the weapon, and that Wilson began advancing toward him.
Tyrell Wilson – murdered by a cop.
Hall remains on administrative leave.
His attorney, Michael Rains, said the officer has requested a new assignment with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, which has a contract to provide police services in Danville.
Hall is awaiting a charging decision from District Attorney Diana Becton for a separate killing in 2018 when he fired 10 rounds through the windshield and passenger side window of fleeing motorist Laudemer Arboleda.
Top photo – During a march to Danville Police Department headquarters, Veronica Benjamin points to where Tyrell Wilson was fatally shot by the same police officer who shot and killed Laudemer Arboleda in November 2018.
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