Following fatal shooting, New Rochelle residents gather to express frustration about policing
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Residents were out in force Tuesday night demanding answers, following a police-involved shooting last week.
Attorney General Letitia James' office will begin an investigation into the death of Jarrell Garris. This, as people in the community gathered, many unhappy about policing in the city.
"Repeat after me, justice for Jarrell," resident Valerie Williams said.
Members of the New Rochelle community showed up for a City Council hearing, following a police shooting last week that left 37-year-old Garris dead.
"We cannot keep acting like nothing is wrong. We cannot behave as if this will go away," resident Lisa Burton said.
On July 3, police responded to a call that someone stole food from New Rochelle Farms on Lincoln Avenue. A witness said the man was being menacing and eating food he had not paid for.
Police released body cam video of the incident and claim Garris resisted arrest and grabbed for an officer's gun before Det. Steve Conn shot him once.
When asked if he thinks those three officers wanted to do that the other day, resident James O'Toole said, "Absolutely not."
But many people said they felt the situation needed to be de-escalated. Garris' family said he had suffered from a mental health condition.
"Food insecurity is not a death sentence. Mental illness is not a death sentence," Aeisha Cooke said.
"I frequently eat fruit in the store. I don't get shot. I think you know why," resident Dan Miller said.
READ MORE: New Rochelle community demands accountability after police shooting
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Noam Bramson offered condolences to the Garris family.
"I think it is important for me to acknowledge the pain that is in this room," Bramson said. "To acknowledge that this is a trauma for this entire community, and especially to acknowledge that the greatest trauma, the most personal trauma, that the heaviest burden is born by the family of Jarrell Garris."
The three officers involved in the incident were put on administrative leave.
