Friday
Apr182008
Black Teen Killed by Marietta Police had a Toy Gun - said "Don't Shoot"
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 06:01PM By MARCUS K. GARNER, TOM OPDYKE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rafael Christian moved with his family from Cincinnati to escape violence that had claimed his friends' lives, his family said. He died Wednesday evening from police gunfire.
Now, Christian's family wants answers.
"Nothing makes sense. None of it makes sense," his mother, Brandy Phillips, said Thursday night.
The 16-year-old was fatally shot by Marietta police responding to a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that resembled a semiautomatic handgun, police said.
Now Christian's family is struggling to understand how this could happen.
"They ended a life," said Anita Dixon, Christian's aunt.
Christian and four friends were hanging out at the Bentley Manor apartment complex on Bentley Road about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was showing his friends the air-powered pellet gun he had recently bought.
Now, Christian's family wants answers.
"Nothing makes sense. None of it makes sense," his mother, Brandy Phillips, said Thursday night.
The 16-year-old was fatally shot by Marietta police responding to a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that resembled a semiautomatic handgun, police said.
Now Christian's family is struggling to understand how this could happen.
"They ended a life," said Anita Dixon, Christian's aunt.
Christian and four friends were hanging out at the Bentley Manor apartment complex on Bentley Road about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was showing his friends the air-powered pellet gun he had recently bought.
Marietta police, meanwhile, responded to a report of someone with a gun, police said.
Christian's friends said the officers surprised them and came on the scene waving guns.
"Nobody knew the police were coming," one of Christian's friends, Kenny Drake, said. "All they said was, 'Freeze!' One told me, 'You move, I shoot.' "
Two of the teens tried to flee, but Dwayne Conley, 14, said he stopped when an officer drew a gun on him.
Christian continued to run for another 20 yards, went around the corner of a nearby building and was shot by two officers, Drake said.
"When he went around the building, I heard him screaming for a good three seconds," Drake said. "Then it just went quiet."
Police said the officers on the scene believed Christian's pellet gun to be a Beretta .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol. "It looks like your standard automatic weapon," police spokesman Mark Bishop said.
Witnesses said Christian tried to tell police the gun was only a toy.
"He told the police, 'Don't shoot. It's a fake gun,' " said Caliph Hudson, who watched the incident from his apartment window.
Joeanna McNeil, who lives in a second-floor apartment, said she saw about six youths playing below her window. She said she saw one of them with a gun, but it was clear to her that it was a pellet gun. "You could hear the air pop," she said.
Phillips described her son as a jokester, an athlete and a budding ladies' man who had never been in any trouble with police.
"He thought he was so fine," she said. "When he wasn't home on time, I thought he might be with some girl."
She said she had only moved to the Atlanta area five months ago to escape growing violence in Cincinnati.
"It had gotten so bad there for teenagers . . . all the killings," she said. "We just needed a new start."
Phillips called Atlanta activist Markel Hutchins on Thursday to help her sort out the situation. Hutchins, who is running this fall to unseat U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta), said he met with Marietta police Chief Dan Flynn and noted some discrepancies in the police story and the teens' account of what happened.
"I'm going to ask for a higher degree of authority to look into this," Hutchins said. "I'm going to ask the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to get involved."
Asked why he ran, Drake said that was a natural reaction for young black males approached by seemingly hostile police. "That's the first instinct for anybody when you see police with guns," Drake said.
Hutchins led family and friends in prayer outside Phillips' Marietta townhouse, and he had a message for Christian's four surviving friends. "Whatever it is you need to do to change your manner of thinking, you need to do it for him," Hutchins said, referring to the slain youth.
Phillips offered a simpler request. "Keep him in your hearts so we can get justice," she said.
Christian's friends said the officers surprised them and came on the scene waving guns.
"Nobody knew the police were coming," one of Christian's friends, Kenny Drake, said. "All they said was, 'Freeze!' One told me, 'You move, I shoot.' "
Two of the teens tried to flee, but Dwayne Conley, 14, said he stopped when an officer drew a gun on him.
Christian continued to run for another 20 yards, went around the corner of a nearby building and was shot by two officers, Drake said.
"When he went around the building, I heard him screaming for a good three seconds," Drake said. "Then it just went quiet."
Police said the officers on the scene believed Christian's pellet gun to be a Beretta .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol. "It looks like your standard automatic weapon," police spokesman Mark Bishop said.
Witnesses said Christian tried to tell police the gun was only a toy.
"He told the police, 'Don't shoot. It's a fake gun,' " said Caliph Hudson, who watched the incident from his apartment window.
Joeanna McNeil, who lives in a second-floor apartment, said she saw about six youths playing below her window. She said she saw one of them with a gun, but it was clear to her that it was a pellet gun. "You could hear the air pop," she said.
Phillips described her son as a jokester, an athlete and a budding ladies' man who had never been in any trouble with police.
"He thought he was so fine," she said. "When he wasn't home on time, I thought he might be with some girl."
She said she had only moved to the Atlanta area five months ago to escape growing violence in Cincinnati.
"It had gotten so bad there for teenagers . . . all the killings," she said. "We just needed a new start."
Phillips called Atlanta activist Markel Hutchins on Thursday to help her sort out the situation. Hutchins, who is running this fall to unseat U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta), said he met with Marietta police Chief Dan Flynn and noted some discrepancies in the police story and the teens' account of what happened.
"I'm going to ask for a higher degree of authority to look into this," Hutchins said. "I'm going to ask the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to get involved."
Asked why he ran, Drake said that was a natural reaction for young black males approached by seemingly hostile police. "That's the first instinct for anybody when you see police with guns," Drake said.
Hutchins led family and friends in prayer outside Phillips' Marietta townhouse, and he had a message for Christian's four surviving friends. "Whatever it is you need to do to change your manner of thinking, you need to do it for him," Hutchins said, referring to the slain youth.
Phillips offered a simpler request. "Keep him in your hearts so we can get justice," she said.
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