BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (WCCO) – The family of a man killed by police claim that he was handcuffed and tased before being shot.
Brooklyn Center police won’t comment on that accusation, but said the shooting was the result of a traffic stop on Shingle Creek Blvd shortly after 2 a.m. Friday.
Police said there was a struggle and police shot and killed 24-year-old Edmond Fair. The investigation is in its early stages.
But family members of the victim tell a different story.
“My baby is gone,” grandmother Sharon Darnell said. “He had an old school spirit to the point that he was of love. He wasn’t of enemies. He wants to be there for somebody — if he could help he would give you his heart.”
Darnell said Fair was with her less than 48 hours ago, standing on a corner near a triple shooting in north Minneapolis.
He was holding a sign asking for the violence to stop.
“Edmond was excited,” minister KG Wilson said. “He was like, ‘Give me the sign.’ And it touched my heart.”
Now Wilson, who holds vigils for every victim of crime across the metro, must plan a vigil for someone who has helped him.
“This is a different kind of hurt — this is a different kind of anger,” Wilson said.
Fair’s grandfather embodies that anger.
“The man had handcuffs on and they shot him and they tased him,” Gerald Davis said.
He claims his grandson had no gun and was not a threat to officers.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting and said they can’t comment on an active investigation.
Community leaders are asking for calm until all the facts are in .
“At this time I don’t want anyone to rush to judgment,” Reverend Harding Smith said. “And that’s what I am saying to the community and I’m saying to everyone.”
