Fatal Police Shooting Of Robert Adams Under Investigation By San Bernardino Police
Police in San Bernardino, Calif., are investigating an officer-involved shooting that killed Robert Adams, on Saturday (July 16), and leaving his family and community demanding answers.
According to CBS News, authorities say Adams, 23, was armed at the time of the shooting, which occurred in a parking lot at around 8 p.m. and was recorded by nearby surveillance cameras. The silent footage reportedly shows uniformed authorities emerging from an unmarked vehicle and shooting Adams in the back.
The approximately two-minute video shows Adams standing at the rear of a parked car speaking to someone he seems to know. He then appears to face the unmarked police vehicle and briefly step toward it, at which point two officers exit the driver’s and passenger seat doors with their guns drawn.
Adams then turns to run in the opposite direction before one officer fires his weapon, striking the 23-year-old in the back and causing him to fall to the ground.
Adams was transported to a hospital where he later died from his injuries. Tamika Deavila King, Adams’ mother, questions why her son was shot by the officer.
"I could understand if he was a threat to them," King told CBS News, referencing her son's actions on the tape in the moments leading up to the shooting. "But he was not a threat to them. He was running for his life."
A person identified as Adams’ “best friend” claims he has a firsthand account of what happened and claims officers did not verbally communicate with Adams at all during the deadly encounter. That contradicts the San Bernardino Police Department’s account, which claims both officers “attempted to give Adams verbal commands.”
The statement adds that Adams withdrew a gun from his waistband as he walked toward the unmarked police vehicle and was still carrying the gun while he tried to flee the parking lot.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding Adams’ death is currently underway.
