A 14-year-old Black teen shot, killed by Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputy
29th September 2014 · 0 Comments
“The cops feel they have the right to just go in and shoot. What happened to protect and serve? He had it on his mind to kill.”
– Comeako Tillman,
Cameron Tillman’s aunt
State police are investigating the shooting death of a Black Houma teenager by a Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s deputy, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Troopers identified the victim as Cameron Tillman, 14, a freshman at Ellender High School.
The shooting occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The deputy’s name has not been released. It’s also unclear how many times Tillman was shot and what part of his body was hit.
Tillman lived in the neighborhood where he was slain and was remembered by friends, classmates, neighbors and teachers as a “good kid,” talented student and gifted athlete with loads of potential.
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Dawn Foret told The Courier Wednesday that the teenager was “armed.”
State police have said a weapon was found “in close proximity,” though they would not elaborate.
The incident began after the deputies received a report of several people entering a home, State Police Troop B spokesman Evan Harrell said. The caller reported the incident as a robbery and noted at least one of the people entering the home was armed.
Deputies and state police declined to elaborate on exactly what they think happened when two sheriff’s deputies arrived. Several neighbors reported hearing three gunshots. Tillman died at the scene.
Three of the people in the house, two minors and one 18-year-old, Tillman’s brother Andre, were arrested. Harrell said charges are pending against the trio but was unclear what those might be as of Tuesday night.
Another teen escaped the home and was being sought by investigators, Harrell said.
Residents said the rundown brick home where the shooting took place had been vacant more than a year and kids were often seen going in and out of the building.
Though the deputy’s identity is being withheld, Foret said the officer is Black, a seven-year member of the patrol division, a field training officer and a member of the SWAT team.
The deputy has no previous disciplinary infractions during his or her career with the sheriff’s office, Foret said.
Relatives of the three teens who made it out of the house alive said the deputy who shot Tillman had a “killer mentality.”
State Police Troop B spokesman Evan Harrell issued a plea for patience and calm as the agency conducts its investigation of the incident.
“What transpired on the scene is actually being processed right now,” Harrell told WWL-TV. “We’re asking everybody involved in this not to make snap judgment calls because we want to do a very thorough investigation. The officer and the family of the 14-year-old deserve a thorough investigation.”
Family members disputed claims by authorities that Tillman was armed. Andre Tillman, Cameron’s 18-year-old brother, told WWL-TV that he was inside the abandoned house at the time of the shooting. He said just before the shooting somebody knocked on the door. “My little brother thought somebody was just clowning, because somebody is always clowning by the door,” he told WWL-TV. “He opened (it) and the man just shot him. He didn’t have nothing in his hand.”
At least one person said that the gun in question was a B.B. gun and agreed with the family’s contention that Cameron Tillman was not holding a weapon of any kind when he was slain by the deputy.
Witnesses say the deputy also did not identify himself as a law enforcement officer before opening the door.
“He (the deputy) came to the door and did not identify himself and started shooting when Cam opened the door,” Comeako Tillman, Tillman’s aunt, told The Courier.
Comeako Tillman told The Courier that after the first shot, one of the other teens in the abandoned house slammed the door, which the deputy fired through. recounting Cameron’s older brother’s description from inside the abandoned house.
“He said ‘I’ve been shot,’ and the police came in and kept shooting him again. He was shot and defenseless. Why do you have to keep shooting?” she said, “It was a senseless murder of an A, B student who never got in trouble in his whole life.”
Comeako said it was not in her nephew;s character to threaten a law enforcement officer in any way.
A vigil for the slain teen was held Wednesday night as the victim’s friends, classmates, loved ones and teachers showed up with cards, balloons, flowers and stuffed animals for a makeshift memorial outside the abandoned house where he was killed.
Some who paused last week to remember Tillman described a high school freshman and budding athlete who did not seem at all like a troublemaker or delinquent.
“I look at him as one of my sons,” Michael Legarde, a family friend of Tillman and a teacher at Ellender Memorial High School, told The Courier. “It’s a shame. This was a good kid, never caused any trouble.”
Josh Miles, Tillman’s cousin, agreed. “He stayed out of trouble — he was just a good kid,” Miles said. “I told the sheriff that as scared as he was, he’d never point anything at anybody.”
“He was a football player — that was somebody to chill with, man,” Andre Tillman,, Cameron’s older brother, told WWL-TV. “That was the only thing I really had, the only person I could really kick it with at night. I can’t even do that no more ‘cause I don’t got no more lil’ brother. My lil brother is dead, man.”
“They said he was armed,” Beverly Shephard, Tillman’s grandmother, told FOX 8 News. “That child was scared of guns. Cameron never even had a toy gun, he wouldn’t have done that.”
Omar Austin, Tillman’s cousin, told FOX 8 that Cameron’s death has taken a major toll on him and the rest of the family.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” Austin said. “Everything I just think about him, smiling and walking down the street.”
Some residents were offended about the fact that the TPSO released a statement saying that the officer who shot the 14-year-old was Black, as if that would diffuse what some have called a racially explosive situation.
“It really doesn’t matter that it was a Black sheriff’s deputy that killed Cam,” one woman said who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Cam is still dead and his family, friends and teachers are still left mourning his death.
“The young man’s body is not even cold yet and the police are already trying to defend the guilty party,” she contented. “Even though they don’t want to tell the public who he is, they’re defending his record as a cop and letting people know that it was a Black cop this time. There’s really no difference a lot of times when it comes to Black and white cops — they have no problem killing unarmed and innocent Black people and making it look like somebody was reaching for a weapon or making an aggressive move.
The woman said she doesn’t expect the Louisiana State Police to accuse the officer who shot Cameron Tillman of using excessive force. “They look out for one another — that’s just what they do,” she said.
WAFB News reported that neighbors at the scene of the fatal shooting said that there had been ongoing tensions between local police and some residents.
Although the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office utilizes body cameras, the deputies involved were not equipped with them, so there is no video surveillance to confirm or disprove the deputies’ account of the incident.
“As a citizen, I am outraged,” neighbor Felisha Williams told WAFB News last week. “I believe that they could have apprehended the child without killing the child. That is my belief. I think that they have been through extensive training that they can go and get him without killing.”
Comeako Tillman told The Courier that the family is weighing its legal options before deciding upon a course of action to hold those responsible for her nephew’s death accountable.
The case is already making national headlines and has been compared to incidents involving Trayvon Martin of Sanford, Florida, Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, Wendell Allen of New Orleans, Ezell Ford of Los Angeles and Oscar Grant of Oakland, California.
“We are not going to sleep until they get what they deserve. This is enough,” Comeako said. “The cops feel they have the right to just go in and shoot. What happened to protect and serve? He had it on his mind to kill.”
This article originally published in the September 29, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
