Parents of a 29-year-old man who was fatally shot by officer address Houston police chief’s statement about autopsy results

HOUSTON – Attorney Ben Crump and the family of 29-year-old Jalen Randle who was shot and killed by a Houston police officer on April 27 addressed the statement released by Houston Police Chief Troy Finner.

On Monday, Finner released a statement regarding the officer-involved shooting, in which he claimed that some of the statements Crump made about Randle’s shooting were “false.”

Randle’s family and Crump believe the 29-year-old’s death was unnecessary.

The family said original HPD reports stated that Randle was walking toward officers, but according to witnesses at the scene, he was running away from officers when he was shot.

Crump and the family said that body camera footage from the incident clearly shows that Randle, with no visible weapon, was running away from police when he was shot in the back of the neck. Randle’s family feels he was not provided enough time to respond to the officer’s command before being gunned down.

The family also said they conducted an independent autopsy, which showed Randle had been killed by a gunshot wound to the back of the neck. The family also added that their independent autopsy findings are consistent with what they were told by emergency room doctors and the funeral home director.

On Monday, Finner said, “preliminary results indicate there was one gunshot wound to the front of Mr. Randle’s neck.”

The results of the official autopsy ordered by HPD are still pending, according to Finner.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Crump said they stand by what their pathologist has said and will order a second autopsy.

The father of Randle, Warren Randle, said due to everything that was told to him at the emergency room, by the pathologist and by what he saw with his own eyes is that Jalen was shot in the back of his neck and upper torso.

“Chief Finner, you’re dead wrong ... because the issue was not where he got shot at, it’s him being shot as an unarmed man,” Warren Randle said. “You’re trying to deflect from what’s really going on. An unarmed man got shot by one of your officers and they have to take accountability for that.”

Crump said they want District Attorney Kim Ogg’s office to do a thorough investigation.

SEE MORE:

‘He won’t live to leave this neighborhood’: Attorney Ben Crump calls for arrest of HPD officer who shot, killed Jalen Randle

Family of 29-year-old man killed by officer demands HPD release bodycam vid of shooting following independent autopsy results

Family says 29-year-old shot by HPD officer in east Houston was killed unnecessarily

GRAPHIC: HPD releases bodycam video of 29-year-old man whose family says was fatally shot while running away from police