PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Religious leaders in Delaware have joined the call for justice and transparency in the June 24 shooting death of a 19-year-old by a Wilmington police officer.
Wilmington religious leaders and civil rights attorneys held a virtual press conference on Tuesday calling for charges against the officer who shot and killed Kadir Skinner on June 24, and more openness from city and state officials.
“We don't believe transparency is the enemy of law enforcement,” said Rev. Dray Bland of the Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington. “We believe that it is required in order to do good law enforcement. So we're asking that our public officials will allow the investigation to proceed openly.”
The Delaware Department of Justice is investigating the shooting. Police said Skinner pointed a gun at a crowd and they chased him before he was shot.
However, Skinner’s supporters said that wasn’t depicted on body cam videos released by police last week.
“At 19, he wasn't robbed in a bank, but he was shot in the back. He wasn't resisting arrest, but he was shot in the back. He wasn't committing a crime, but he was shot in the back. He wasn't beating somebody down. He was shot in the back,” said Bishop William Barber, with Repairers of the Breach, a social justice nonprofit based in North Carolina.
“We saw everything we needed to see,” added Harry Daniels, one of the family’s attorneys, “because if it was you or anybody else in that situation [that] shot and killed a person in the manner it was, then they've probably already been charged, arrested, and trying to fight to get out on bond.”
In addition to investigating the shooting, Bland called for an investigation and reform of the Wilmington Police Department altogether.
“One of the things that you saw in those videos was not just the shooting of Kadir,” he said, “but you see the way in which the people in that community, by just the behavior of the police department, are dehumanized before police even arrive to the scene.”
KYW Newsradio has reached out to the Delaware Department of Justice for comment and is waiting for a response.
