Hector Morejon, Unarmed Graffiti Artist, Shot by Police in Long Beach
The mother of an unarmed teenager who was shot to death by police in Long Beach has asked for a Federal investigation into what happened to her son. Reportedly his last words were cries of help to his mother who was just a few houses away. From the Long Beach Press Telegram article posted yesterday:
Lucia Morejon heard a noise that turned out to be the gunshot that injured her son. After a few minutes, she heard more noise in the alley behind her home, went outside to investigate and saw many police officers.
She then saw her son in an ambulance.
“When he saw her, he propped himself partially up and cried to her, ‘Mommy, Mommy, please come, please come!’ ” the attorney’s statement said. “She walked towards the ambulance, identified herself as his mother, expecting to ride with him to the hospital, but was pushed back by a man in a blue uniform.”
The way in which this shooting has been described in the press shows everything that is wrong with current police procedures and training. The "shoot first" mentality is evident in the way potential crimes are investigated and pursued. From the Daily Mail:
According to an LBPD press release, an officer looked into the apartment through the broken window and saw a man (later identified as Morejon) standing against a wall.
The press release states the officer saw the man turn toward him, while bending his knees and extending his arm out, as if pointing an object which the officer perceived as a gun.
The officer then fired, according to police.
Morejon,from Long Beach, was initially listed in critical condition, but was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
No weapons were found at the scene.
We will try to bring you updates on this story as they become available.
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