Pennsylvania state police claimed they shot and killed 19-year-old Christian Hall in December because he was walking towards them while pointing a gun, making them fear for their lives.
But a video recorded by a witness shows Hall had his hands in the air when police opened fire.
Now Hall’s family plans to file a lawsuit, according to attorney Benjamin Crump who posted the video on Twitter.
The incident took place on December 30 after Pennsylvania state police responded to a report of a suicidal man standing on an overpass with a gun in his hand.
Hall was experiencing a mental health crisis after a recent break up with a girlfriend, Crump said in a press conference Wednesday, according to The Morning Call.
“Christian Hall needed a helping hand, but yet he got bullets while he had his hands up,” said Benjamin L. Crump, the family’s attorney. ” … When people have mental health crises, the police should de-escalate the situation, not settle it with a gun. That’s not what good policing is.”
Pennsylvania state police did not comment over the recent allegations but they issued a press release in December following the shooting that claimed he had placed the gun down but then picked it up back up again and began walking towards them with it.
The shooting is being investigated by state police and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office but Crump is asking Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro to investigate the shooting because he does not trust the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office to be objective in its investigation.
But the state attorney general’s office said it can only do so if it receives a referral from the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, according to Local 21 News.
Pennsylvania state police evidently has video footage from an overhead camera because they released some of that footage to the media but they did not release footage of the actual shooting.
Below is the initial press release from police stating their version of the incident.
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