Last Updated on July 20, 2022 by BVN
Aryana Noroozi |
Message from the editor:
The NAACP has issued a call to action for the community to attend the San Bernardino City Council Meeting tonight July 20th at the Feldheym Central Library, 555 W. 5th Street, San Bernardino, to address the shooting with the city council and the San Bernardino Police Department. Follow this link to view the meeting by YouTube, the meeting is not available by zoom. Close session begins at 5:30 Open Session starts at 7:00pm.
“How do you do that, City of San Bernardino?” asked Attorney Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney that will be representing the family of Robert Marquise Adams, 23, along with attorney Brad Gage. Crump also leads the George Floyd family’s legal team.
Adams was shot to death this weekend by members of the San Bernardino Police Department. The incident, caught on video, has once again elevated the issue of Black Lives in relation to the deadly interactions with police nationally that sparked an international uprising in 2020 with the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Adams’ death has brought the issue front and center in the Inland Empire.
“We want answers, San Bernardino!” an audience member echoed in support of Crump’s rhetorical question to the San Bernardino Police Department.
The official police department press release claims the officers were “conducting surveillance in an unmarked vehicle after receiving information that a Black male armed with a gun was in the parking lot.” It went on to state, “The officers exited their vehicle and attempted to give Adams verbal commands, but Adams ran away, toward two cars, still carrying the gun. One of the officers fired his service weapon, striking Adams multiple times.
Attorney Brad Gage said the press release put out by San Bernardino contains false information about Rob’s history. According to the attorney, Adams was an honors student with numerous awards, who planned to attend college as a business major and start his own business. He was family oriented.
“The City of San Bernardino wants to portray an image of Rob and forgets the human toll that this caused,” Gage said. “This was like a classic drive-by shooting… There was no warning, no questions… Why were they there [in an unmarked vehicle with tinted windows]?”
“They said they had evidence of a Black man holding a gun.” There could have been millions of suspects, Gage says.
The family also questions the accuracy of this assessment and wonders if Adams’s cell phone could have been mistaken for a gun.
Adams’ mother,Tamika Deavila-King, told Eyewitness News she was on the phone with her son as the incident unfolded and her comments were reiterated by the attorney during today’s press conference.
“She heard the shots in rapid succession and then she never heard her son’s voice again,” said the attorney as he urged the community not to let the police department say the shooting was justified. The police report claims, “Adam’s gun, a loaded Taurus G3C 9mm with a bullet in the chamber was recovered at the scene.”
The inconsistencies are adding to the frustration of the family and once again elevating community concerns over police-use-of-force against Black men.
“As a community we want and demand answers, not just in San Bernardino but people are watching the video all across America.”
Crump said Adams was shot seven times. He laid face down and was picked up from the ground and handcuffed. It is alleged paramedics did not administer treatment on the scene. Once again the official police report states otherwise, “Officers immediately rendered medical aid, and Adams was transported to a local hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries.”
With so many inconsistencies the community is demanding transparency and accountability.
The NAACP has issued a call to action for the community to attend the San Bernardino City Council Meeting tonight July 20th at the Feldheym Central Library, 555 W. 5th Street, San Bernardino, to address the shooting with the city council and the San Bernardino Police Department. Follow this link to view the meeting by YouTube, the meeting is not available by zoom. Close session begins at 5:30 Open Session starts at 7:00pm.