UPDATE: Thursday Jan. 9, 2014
According to Think Progress, two of the cops involved in the shooting have been cleared by an internal investigation.
One officer, Southport Officer Bryon Vassey, remains on paid administrative leave.
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The last thing Mark Wilsey and his wife wanted when they called the police to help their son get through a schizophrenic episode was a funeral.
However, that’s exactly what happened when North Carolina police shot and killed 18-year-old Keith Vidal on Sunday afternoon after at least three law enforcement agencies responded to the family’s call for help.
Now, the family is demanding answers, contending that the police first stunned their son and then shot him in cold blood.
Mark Wilsey, the young man’s stepfather, told reporters that the family called police to help subdue Vidal because he was holding a small screwdriver and threatening to fight his mother during a schizophrenic episode.
But the situation appeared to be under control, with two officers restraining the 90-pound Vidal, when the third officer arrived and shot Vidal point-blank, Wilsey contended.
“Then all of a sudden, this Southport cop came, walked in the house [and said]: ‘I don’t have time for this. Tase him. Let’s get him out of here,'” Wilsey said.
An officer used a stun gun on Vidal, “he hit the ground [and] this guy shot him,” Wilsey said.
Wilsey demanded to know why his stepson had been shot and was given the reply, “Well, I’m protecting my officers.”
“He reached right up, shot this kid point-blank, with all intent to kill,” Wilsey said. “He just murdered him flat out.”
The shooting has left the community baffled. Neighbors told police that Vidal often played with their children and never harmed anyone. His mother, Mary Wisley, told reporters that she often tried to get help for her son’s mental illness.
“Why?” she asked Monday. “Why did this child have to die?”
On Monday, North Carolina prosecutors promised to get the truth behind the tragic shooting. Brunswick County District Attorney Jon David said the State Bureau of Investigation had been called in to investigate, as is standard in all officer-involved shootings.
“The public deserves to have a process put in place that will lead to the most just resolution,” he said.
Detective Byron Vassey, a nine-year veteran of the department, had been placed on administrative leave. It is unclear, however, if Vassey was the officer who fired the shot.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest.
SOURCE: NBC | PHOTO CREDIT: Screengrab
