The story agreed upon by both sides is that L.S. was leaving a liquor store with an unidentified person when Officer Alan Leal and his partner say they saw him stuffing what they thought were drugs into his mouth. When the officers approached, L.S. ran on foot, throwing into the street a gun he had been carrying.

As the teen ran through a nearby backyard, he and Leal crossed paths and Leal confronted him. Police said at the time of the shooting that Leal ordered the boy to stop several times and then, when the boy reached for his waistband, Leal thought he was grabbing a second gun and fired on him.

However, Pointer said the boy had turned to run when he was shot in the back of the neck. Further, Pointer said, not only did toxicology reports prove he had consumed no drugs -- and was probably just eating a snack from the store -- but no weapons or drugs were found on his body at all after he was shot.

"Essentially, it was a kill shot," Pointer said. "He nearly lost his life. In the course of trying to keep him alive, doctors had to have his sternum, his chest bone, taken out of his chest.

"Now you have a guy, the rest of his life he cannot participate in any type of contact sports. He can't pick up heavy things, things you and I would take for granted. I'm lugging around a heavy briefcase today. He can't do that."