This sounds to me like Udofia was having a mental health episode, but if you point anything at cops and you are black they are going to shoot you.
They aren’t going to try to deescalate the situation or try to figure out what exactly you have in your hand.
A man who had been running in out and of Phoenix street traffic carrying what was later identified as a BB gun died Monday after police officers shot him.
“He was not firing at cars. What we know is he was armed and there was traffic flowing and he was jumping in front of vehicles,” Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said.
Fortune said officers arrived and tried to get the man to put down what appeared to be a handgun but instead he came forward and aimed at them.
Two officers fired at him, Fortune said. After he went down, he still refused to let go of the gun.
The suspect then raised the gun again and pointed toward officers. They shot him again.
Udofia did not think he was a bad person and said he needed mental health help more than jail. A probation report just weeks before his death indicated Udofia was successfully completing the requirements of Maricopa County’s Mental Health Court.
Once again, when someone is having a mental health issue we need to figure out better ways to deal with them than shooting them dead in the street.
This has happened far too often.
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