A friend who was with an unarmed black man killed by a white Phoenix police officer on Tuesday said cops are misleading the public about how the shooting unfolded and accused police of papering over their mistakes by focusing on details that hurt his friend's reputation.
Rumain Brisbon, 34, died Tuesday after being shot twice by an officer who police said thought Brisbon had a gun. The fatal encounter started, according to police, when Brisbon fled from his Cadillac SUV into an apartment after an officer tried questioning him about possible drug-dealing from the vehicle.
But that's not how the killing really happened, said Brandon Dickerson, Brisbon's friend who was in the SUV when the unnamed officer pulled the trigger around 6 p.m.
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Dickerson told HuffPost that the officer didn't approach the SUV before the shooting and that Brisbon had already hopped out to bring food from McDonald's to his daughter. Dickerson was unaware that a cop was nearby, let alone struggling with Brisbon, until he heard a yell followed quickly by a gunshot.
"I never saw the police coming. They said they approached the vehicle. That was not the case," Dickerson said.
Brisbon had previous convictions for burglary [in 1998] and marijuana, according to the Arizona Republic. He had been arrested in October on suspicion of driving under the influence, the newspaper said.
Inside the SUV, police found a jar of marijuana. Brisbon had a medical marijuana permit, according to the Rev. Jarret Maupin, who told HuffPost he spoke to Brisbon's friends and family. Because of privacy protections, the Arizona Department of Health Services said it cannot confirm or deny if Brisbon was allowed to have medical pot.
"What the hell is the point of mentioning the pot if you're not going to tell the whole story," Maupin told HuffPost. "What you find in the car, even if it were four bales of pot, had nothing to do with the assault outside the car."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/rumain-brisbon-phoenix-police_n_6278966.html
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