COLUMBUS: Attorneys for the family of a 13-year-old Ohio boy fatally shot by a policeman said Friday they want to hear from witnesses, because the police version of events “might not be true.”
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old who said he was the boy’s friend told the Columbus Dispatch that Tyre King had a real-looking BB gun, was out to rob someone and ran from police.
Police say an officer who believed the gun was real shot the boy Wednesday night after witnesses reported a group of people had robbed a man of $10.
Relatives are still grieving and working on the funeral arrangements, Sean Walton, an attorney for Tyre’s family, said Friday. Walton said he’s looking for people with information in the case to come forward.
“We just have many different witness accounts that are contradictory to the police officer’s version of events,” Walton said. “What is currently out there might not be true.”
The 19-year-old friend, Demetrius Braxton, told the Dispatch that King wanted to rob someone for money and that he was with Tyre when the shooting occurred.
Braxton said he and Tyre initially had run away but complied when police told them to get down.
Tyre then got up, ran and was shot, he told the newspaper.
Braxton was interviewed by police but not charged.
A spokesman for Columbus police said they won’t comment on how Braxton’s story compared with officers’ accounts.
Authorities have said officers investigating the robbery report east of downtown Columbus spotted three males who matched the description of the suspects.
Two of the males ran away when officers tried to speak with them, investigators said.
The police chased the two into an alley and tried to take them into custody.
Tyre pulled out what looked like a handgun, and an officer fired, hitting the boy multiple times, police said.