The family of a Brooklyn man struck and killed by a police car earlier this month will join Reverend Al Sharpton in calling for an investigation into the fatal incident.
Tamon Robinson, 27, was allegedly spotted by police at 5:30 AM on April 12th stealing cobblestones from the Bay View Houses, apublic housing complex in Canarsie.
When he saw police, Robinson bolted for his mother's building, which The New York Times reports was just a short 100 yards away. Two officers were chasing him on foot and another set were chasing him by car.
As Robinson neared the building, the cop car veered up onto the sidewalk.
"They hit him,” said 26-year-old Franchette Mowbray, who witnessed the episode, told The Times. “He flew up and he came down. They backed the car up, and they told him to get up. People were yelling out their windows screaming at the cops, ‘We saw what you did.’ ”
The official police account of the day's events differs from witnesses, however. Police say the car was stopped when Robinson ran into it. Friends of Robinson also say thathe had permission to take the cobblestones, as he hada business on the side selling such materials.
The official police account of the day's events differs from witnesses, however. Police say the car was stopped when Robinson ran into it. Friends of Robinson also say thathe had permission to take the cobblestones, as he had
Robinson--a popular barista at a Brooklyn Connecticut Muffin --suffered a head injury was taken to the hospital where he was handcuffed to his bed, even after falling into a coma.
After his six days, he was declared brain dead and his family elected to take him off the respirator. He died on April 18th.
