Family Wants Answers In Deadly Shooting By Birmingham Police

BIRMINGHAM, AL — After a 27-year-old man was shot and killed by Birmingham police Wednesday night, the victim's family and local civil rights leaders want answers regarding the incident.

Police have not released many details surrounding the shooting death of 27-year-old Keleen Connell at the hands of the Birmingham PD, other than saying an altercation led to a foot chase that ended in the shooting.

Local Black Lives Matter spokesperson Eric Hall told WBRC he has sent emails to Mayor Randall Woodfin and acting police chief Scott Thurmond demanding answers.

"Was this incident recorded on the involved officers’ body cameras or cars and if so, when will that information be released," Hall said in a WBRC report. "Did this man pose a threat to officers or was he just running and fleeing from police? Was he tased before being shot? If he was tased prior to being shot, is that considered excessive? Could this be handled a different way?"

Information released by the Birmingham Police Department following the shooting said the altercation between Connell and police began at the Tom Brown Village Housing Community, and that Connell fled the scene and was pursued by police to Morris Avenue where he was shot.

"It is heartbreaking and devastating in all cases of officer involved shootings," Thurmond said in a statement Thursday. "The Birmingham Police Department would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of those involved as well as the community. The Birmingham Police Department acknowledges how significant incidents affect the community and is fully committed to providing the highest quality of police services to our community."

"If someone is running away from you, they are trying to get away, so why gun him down like a dog," Connell's mother Erica Connell said in the WBRC report. "I do not condone anything that is wrong, but what is wrong is for Birmingham Police to neglect to tell me what happened to my son. I demand to know."