GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A civil rights attorney called the shooting of Da'Quain Johnson a "shame before God" on Friday while calling for the release of the full extent of video from the deadly incident involving the Grand Rapids Police Department.
"What we're seeing in Grand Rapids is beyond the pale of anything we're seeing in other parts of America," Ben Crump said. "I mean, it's a shame before God."
The comments from Crump came as part of a virtual press conference where he, attorney Ven Johnson, Kent County Commissioner Robert Womack and Angelica Johnson, the mother of Da'Quain Johnson, announced their own investigation into the 32-year-old's death.
WATCH: Full press conference from attorneys and mother of Da'Quain Johnson:
More than a month ago, Johnson was fatally shot by a Grand Rapids police officer in the parking lot of an apartment complex after a police pursuit led to a struggle between him, two GPRD officers and a K9.
In body camera video released by the department, the officers, believing Johnson to be armed, can be heard telling him to "drop the gun" and "let it go." After the fatal shots were fired, one of the officers also claimed he had seen the barrel of a gun "pointed straight at my face."
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On Friday, Crump said if Johnson had pointed a gun at an officer, he wanted to see video proof of it.
"I want to call everybody's attention to the video," said Crump, who played and replayed a bystander's perspective of the shooting, a cell phone video that has not been independently verified by FOX 17. "This community don't deserve lies. They deserve the truth. The video of him pointing a gun at the police officer's face, we wait for it."
"Look at that video," he said. "There is no way they can justify it."
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After Crump reviewed the video several times, Angelica Johnson began to cry.
"I do cry because he was my son. He is my son, and will always be my son," she said. "A lot of times when I think of my son, I will cry because he was a good person."
Johnson says she is committed to sharing the nature of her son's character and will "not let his legacy be remembered in a negative way."
"He wasn't just my first born. He was my best friend," she said. "He was kind, He was compassionate. He was a wonderful father. He loved his kids dearly."
In a statement from a spokesperson, the Grand Rapids Police Department said it was "committed to the integrity of the [Michigan State Police] investigative process and the Kent County Prosecutor's review."
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Earlier this month, Michigan State Police turned in an initial report on the shooting to the Kent County Prosecutor's Office, to which Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker requested additional information.
FOX 17 has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the initial report.
