A young African-American woman, injured by a police officer who killed her companion last week in the northern United States, announced Tuesday her intention to file a complaint, disputing the official version of the facts.
“
I lost the love of my life and the father of my seven-month-old child
” when an officer opened fire “
with our hands in the air,
” said Tafara Williams, 20, who spoke from her hospital bed during a virtual press conference hosted by her lawyer Ben Crump.
Read also: United States: black man killed by police, outbreak of violence in Philadelphia
On October 20, in Waukegan, a suburb north of Chicago, a police officer opened fire on the vehicle she was driving, injuring her and killing her companion, Marcellis Stinnette, 19, who was in the passenger seat.
Police say a first officer wanted to check their car, but the couple fled.
One of his colleagues then intervened on foot, but the vehicle backed up in his direction and he opened fire "out of
fear for his safety
".
The perpetrator, a Hispanic whose name has not been made public, has been fired and the city's mayor has promised to release the video of the intervention this week.
While praising these early steps, Ben Crump, who defends Tafara Williams and her family, intends to file a civil lawsuit for restitution and reforms from the local police.
To read also: Jacob Blake from his hospital bed: "It hurts when I breathe"
The young woman explained that she was smoking a cigarette in her car, parked in front of her house, when the first police officer intervened.
After exchanges, she assured to have left slowly, without being followed.
After turning around the corner, "
there was another one waiting for us
," she continued.
"
I lost control and the policeman was shooting at us
," she said in tears.
Ben Crump linked this case to that of another young black man, Jacob Blake, injured by police in August in the nearby town of Kenosha (Wisconsin).
Each time, he said, the police immediately used maximum force.
"
It's as if, facing African Americans, the police shoot first and ask questions later,
" regretted the lawyer.
