TROY — Troy police confirmed Thursday that they did not find a firearm at the scene of the Aug. 15 police shooting of Dahmeek McDonald.
Police had previously declined to say if the 22-year-old Troy man, who was wanted on an alleged parole violation, had been armed when an officer opened fire and shot him twice.
The disclosure was made as Troy police confirmed a Times Union article that reported the FBI was probing the shooting. Police Chief John Tedesco told the newspaper Wednesday the FBI was joining the city’s investigation.
“The investigation has yielded significant information that will assist in providing a complete depiction of the incident as it occurred,” the Police Department said in a prepared statement.
McDonald’s attorney, Mark S. Mishler, had previously asserted that McDonald was unarmed.
McDonald, who was wanted for an alleged parole violation, was shot twice in the shoulder and face by Troy police officer Jarrod Iler, a five-year veteran of the force, during a traffic stop on Eighth Street at Rensselaer Street around 6:40 p.m. Aug. 15 McDonald was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and sent to the Rensselaer County Jail.
James Cooper, who goes by the name Messiah and lives in the neighborhood, has stepped up as a community leader in the shooting’s aftermath. He said he met with Mayor Patrick Madden, Tedesco and members of the city’s black clergy Thursday to discuss the shooting.
Cooper said Madden hoped to arrange a meeting next week with District Attorney Joel Abelove. John Salka, a spokesman for Madden, said the mayor will contact the district attorney to see if he is interested.
Cooper complained that the investigation of the officer-involved shooting is moving too slowly. An outdoor community meeting will be held at noon Friday at Ninth and Rensselaer streets.
A video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows McDonald writhing on the ground and begging for help as officers try to keep him on the pavement.
“Why’d you all shoot me? Why’d you all shoot me?” he can be heard asking police repeatedly.
“I’m about to die,” McDonald says at another point. “They shot me in the head.”
Mishler has questioned Abelove’s role in the investigation.
Abelove’s handling of a fatal police shooting in April 2016 is under investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office. Mishler said the attorney general’s probe clouds Abelove’s ability to impartially lead an investigation into the McDonald shooting.
Mishler has said Abelove should step away from the case but the prosecutor appeared to reject the idea in a statement earlier this week.
Source: http://www.timesunion.com