Photo of Christian Hall and his mom Fe and dad Gareth. Photo from Ben Crump
A petition demanding the Pennsylvania Attorney General investigate the death of a teen shot and killed by police has generated more than 100,000 signatures.
The family of Christian Hall says their son was going through a mental health crisis when police in Monroe County shot him on a freeway overpass. Video of the incident from a distance appears to show Hall with his hands up when police fired shots.
Gareth and Fe Hall adopted the then 1-year-old Christian 18 years ago.
“The troopers who shot him remain nameless, but reports state that they are back on the job,” Gareth Hall said on Facebook this morning. AsAmNews has not confirmed that.
“Is this how we handle justice in the commonwealth? Law enforcement has carte blanche to exact justice in any form they see fit, and carry on as if nothing happens? My son cannot carry on, he’s dead. Those of us left behind, have to endure with the hole left from his demise, yet those officers are allowed to continue on with their lives as if nothing happened. What is wrong with this picture?”
On Friday, February 12, about 40 protesters gathered outside City Hall to protest the fatal shooting, The Inquirer reported.
Police shot Hall 7 times following reports of a distraught man with a gun on a bridge.
“He was having a crisis. There is a suggestion that he was contemplating suicide. He was crying out for help,” attorney Ben Crump has told reporters. “Christian Hall needed a helping hand, but yet he got bullets while he had his hands up.”
Some of Crump’s other clients include the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Travyon Martin.
Christian’s father is asking those who support his son to sign the petition.
“An independent investigation outside of the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office needs to be made, and those officers be suspended in the interim, without pay. My son’s life mattered,” he said.
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