No Charges Against Detroit Police Who Killed Porter Burks
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office announced Wednesday that no charges will be filed against the Detroit police officers who shot and killed Porter Burks. The 20-year-old was armed with a knife and in the midst of a mental health crisis when he started running towards officers and was shot.
DETROIT (FOX 2) – No charges will be filed against detroit Police officers in the shooting death of Porter Burks, the 20-year-old man who was shot more than a dozen times in early October.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has been reviewing the circumstances that led to the shooting to death of the man who was in the midst of a mental health crisis and was carrying a knife when he was shot 15 times in 3 seconds. A total of 38 shots were fired.
On Wednesday, sources confirmed that Worthy has decided not to file charges against the officers involved in the shooting.
Burks was assassinated in the early hours of October 2 in Detroit. after DPD chief James White said he refused to comply with the officer’s orders to put down the knife. When he ran to Detroit Police OfficersWhite said they had no choice but to shoot the 20-year-old man.
The family has been informed that no charges will be filed.
“This is a truly tragic case. Mr. Burks had a long history of mental illness and violent behavior and a propensity for carrying knives that his family had reported to responding officers. He allegedly cut two people and a seven-year-old boy “. -older girl in 2020. Police spent a significant amount of time trying to get her to drop the gun on him. He suddenly rushed towards them with the knife and covered the distance between them in about three seconds. Eyewitnesses to the shooting were interviewed and indicated. that the police did everything they could to defuse the situation before Mr. Burks charged the police. Unfortunately, officers fatally shot Mr. Burks in self-defense and defense of others,” said prosecutor Kym Worthy.
The Detroit Police Department released this statement after Worthy made the decision:
“The death of Porter Burks remains a tragic event that continues to draw attention to the need for additional resources for those with mental illness. This includes the reestablishment of long-term mental health treatment facilities, increased awareness of the challenges of behavioral health and additional training also includes acknowledgment of our responsibility as a community to provide support, encouragement and assistance to people with mental health issues We greatly appreciate the time that Prosecutor Worthy took to review the facts and circumstances of this incident. Ensuring an objective review of such a tragic incident required the utmost professionalism within both the Michigan State Police and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, particularly at a time like this when emotions are running high.Their independent review confirms that the actions of our officers were justified adas under the circumstances. Improving and expanding the mental health response and increasing crisis stabilization services remains a priority for Mayor Duggan and the Detroit Police Department. We will continue to work with city departments and our community partners in this effort.”
“Right now, the feeling is devastating. I mean, I can’t even describe how I feel,” said Burks’ aunt, Michelle Wilson.
Wilson said the charges would have been justice for the family.
The family says they called 911 that night and the next morning because Burks had a knife. The family says Burks didn’t attack them, but slashed the tires on his brother’s car.
white released bodycam video of the shooting in the days after Burks’ death. The video showed the officer holding out his hand in front of him, which White said was part of his training to show Burks that he was not a threat.
The officer asked him to drop the knife several times and asked Burks what he wanted.
The video shows Detroit police trying to talk Porter Burks into throwing a knife before firing, killing him as he ran towards them.
Porter Burks, 20, was shot and killed by Detroit police on Sunday, October 1. On Tuesday, Chief James White posted body camera video of the encounter as they tried to coax him into laying down a knife. When he ran towards the officers, he said they had no choice but to shoot him.
Other officers asked him what he needed as he stood in the middle of the street about 20 feet from the officers as they urged him to drop the knife.
After about four minutes of trying to coax him to drop the knife, he begins to run toward the officers, who then shot him when he was about six feet away, investigators say.
DPD chief James White said the officers feared for their lives.
Police say Burks had schizophrenia and has stabbed three family members, including a 7-year-old boy, in the past three years. At one point, he was committed to a mental health institution, from which he later escaped. It took four officers to stop him and multiple Taser deployments during that escape.
In the weeks after Burks’ shooting death, his family and protesters demanded that the officers involved be identified, but the police refused to do so.
Burks’ family finally hired a lawyer Geoffrey Fieger, who filed a $50 million lawsuit against the police department.
“You don’t even have to be a police officer to understand that 1,000 different things must have been done besides shooting him,” Fieger said Nov. 1 in announcing the lawsuit.
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