'Trigger-Happy Cops Need To Be Dealt With' Says Mom In Officer-Involved Shooting Case
DENVER (CBS4) - How Denver police handle shootings involving moving cars was back in the spotlight on Tuesday. That's as a man facing charges in an officer-involved shooting was back in court.
Family members and neighbors of Sharod Kindell staged a protest outside the Denver courthouse in an effort to keep pressure on investigators.
The case involving Kindell is one of four Denver police officer-involved shootings involving moving vehicles. And the city's independent monitor is looking into all of those.
The Kindell case stems from a Jan. 9 incident in Denver's Montbello neighborhood. Police say they were trying to question suspect Kindell when he allegedly tried to get away and his car began reversing.
Officers were reportedly hit by the car doors that were open at the time. After one officer was allegedly struck by the moving car officers fired at Kindell and injured him.
Those who know Kindell dispute that chain of events and say Kindell had been harassed and racially profiled by officers in that area for years. That group includes Kindell's mother Sherri Landrum.
Landrum told CBS4 her son is a good father and person. She says this case isn't reflective of all police, but when officers prove to be unnecessarily aggressive they should be punished.
"What I want is I want them to really look at the people that they have on their force. I don't have anything against police officers. There are a lot of police officers that I love because they've been there for me. But as far as these trigger-happy cops? They need to be dealt with," Landrum said.
Kindell has a criminal history. For the January incident he is being held on charges of assault on a peace officer and car theft.
Kindall's family also joined the protests related to the deadly shooting of Jessie Hernandez, 17. Denver officers shot her in a moving car in an alley in the city's Park Hill neighborhood. That case is also under review.