Protestors follow hearse to remember Jor'Dell Richardson who died after being shot by Aurora police
Dozens of protestors on Friday walked behind a hearse as a memorial for 14-year-old Jor'Dell Richardson, repeating the cry of justice as they walked from the Aurora Municipal Center and then along Alameda Parkway before returning.
Jor'dell Richardson was killed on June 1 in a conflict with police that followed a foot chase. He was shot once during a struggle as police were attempting to place him in custody.
Richardson's mother addressed a crowd at a news conference before the march. The police officer who shot her son she says, had left her broken.
"He gave my son the sentence he wanted him to have. He took him from me," Laurie Littlejohn said.
Body camera video released by Aurora police shows gang Sgt. James Snapp pursuing Richardson.
Police say Snapp and fellow officer Roch Gruszeckza had spotted a group of young people with masks donning hoodies. The video shows Richardson running, then on the ground in a struggle he was shot once.
Police initially said Richardson was armed with a handgun and had just robbed a nearby mini-mart and stolen several vape cartridges.
Days later, Aurora Police Chief Acevedo said the weapon was a pellet gun.
"That was not a toy," said Acevedo, showing a picture of the weapon and a semi-automatic handgun during a news conference last week. "As a matter of fact our officers believed that it was a semi-automatic 9mm."
Protestors also called for the resignation of Acevedo.
"He needs to come out here and he needs to apologize to this family. Apologize to this to this community out here standing in the rain," said attorney, Siddhartha Rathod.
Rathod pointed to what he claimed were misleading comments by the chief.
"He left out that prior to being shot, he said, 'you got me, you got me,'" said Rathod about Richardson's words on the body camera video.
"We make mistakes. He should have been able to go and whatever consequences he had to face, been able to face them. Whatever went on that day, it was not a death sentence," said Littlejohn.
In addition to an investigation by Aurora police, the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is conducting a separate probe to help establish whether laws were broken.
The investigation is expected to take up to several months to complete.
