The mother of the victim killed by Lafayette Police in the Pinhook shooting is speaking out.
According to police, officers tried to pull over the driver of a stolen car, but the driver got out and ran away.
Police say the man reached for a gun and they opened fire.
Tonya Coates, the mother of the victim shot by LPD, says she wants transparency from law enforcement in her son Tyron Coates's death.
“If my baby was involved in a shooting and he’s alive, I would have been his first phone call. And there’s all of you here. Tell me if my baby is dead and he said…”Yes ma’am,” Coates said.
“By no means am I saying that what they’re saying is a lie. I just want the truth. I want the body camera to show me what happened. Because that’s the only way we're going to find out if he had a gun…okay let’s see,” She added.
We took her concerns to the Louisiana State Police.
Trooper Thomas Gossen confirms a gun was recovered.
Gossen says they want to make sure all information is accurate before releasing further information.
“Transparency is for sure important and it’s something that needs to happen. However, there's a difference between transparency and allowing an investigation to be tainted by information that gets out too soon,” Gossen said.
“I just ask for patience and I can promise you the investigators are looking at every angle of this thing to make sure it is accurate so when that report comes out. It’s going to be that fact and not someone's opinion,” he added.
“It just hurts so bad, people need to understand he’s a human being. You’re there to protect and serve, not kill him,” Coates said.
The family is in need of assistance to conduct their own independent autopsy and funeral arrangements if you would like to donate to their efforts click here.
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