SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A man who was shot by a San Jose police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city. On Friday, the police chief announced that officer is no longer with the force after he is accused of sending racist text messages.
The 22-year-old man says his life is changed forever. K'aun Green got emotional when talking about the near death experience and says he still deals with the physical and emotional wounds everyday.
Video released by San Jose police of a fight that ended with an officer shooting an East Bay college football player. In the video from March of 2022, you can see Green in a fight with another man inside a restaurant.
Police say the officer Mark McNamara shot him because he did not cooperate with orders to drop a weapon. However, Green says it happened differently.
"I feel like the hero of the situation that took place," Green said.
Green says he was wrestling the gun away from the other man to help protect people in the restaurant.
From this video, it appears Green did not fire the gun. Green was shot four times and spoke Sunday about filing a federal suit against the City of San Jose.
"I went in there to help, I came out looking for help, seeking help from officers. People who are supposed to help me, and I was almost killed," Green said.
San Jose police announced Friday McNamara is no longer with the department. An internal investigation accuses McNamara of sending messages with the n-word and saying he hates Black people. Police Chief Anthony Mata says the text messages were discovered while a separate investigation into a police shooting was underway.
"With these text messages this is proof positive of the mind state of this police officer when he decided to use deadly force against Mr. Green, shooting him four times," lawyer Adanté Pointer said.
Pointer says they are demanding the district attorney revisits the case and that McNamara should be criminally prosecuted. At least one current employee of the San Jose Police Department, who was receiving messages from McNamara, has been placed on leave.
"He didn't even care or just he felt in no way in his heart that he was wrong," Green said. "That's pretty scary for me. And to think that he would have just finished the job, that's also scary."
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan called the case "sickening." The trial will be in federal court in spring of 2024.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/VvNaEeZ
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