Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.: My Family is Not Anti-Police

Instead of celebrating the 69^th birthday of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.—the Chamberlain family spent the week swept up in a media storm, while a grand jury heard testimony over whether criminal charges should be brought against White Plains Police who fatally shot the former Marine in his apartment on Nov. 19.

“As far as our family—everyone is holding it together,” said Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. “It’s very upsetting all of the media and everything—it’s definitely overwhelming, but we have to continue to push this and make the public aware of what’s happening.”

The Chamberlain family said the 68-year-old heart patient’s medical alert device accidently went off prompting the police to respond to the call at the Winbrook housing complex.  According to police, Chamberlain put a hatchet through his door prompting police to break the door down. Police said they used a taser and beanbag gun on Chamberlain, who came at officers with a knife, before he was fatally shot by Officer Anthony Carelli. 

According to the Chamberlain family, the LifeAid alert was canceled and Chamberlain, a former correctional officer, repeatedly told police that he did not need assistance. Despite this, police broke down the door and tasered Chamberlain who was unarmed, in his boxer shorts with his hands at his side—the family said. The Chamberlain camp also said that audio evidence from the LifeAid box and video from the taser gun shows that police called Chamberlain a racial slur.

The family has also said that police refused to let Chamberlain’s family members, who also live at 135 S. Lexington Ave., see him to try and calm Chamberlain down before police shot him—even though they asked to see him while police stood outside his apartment door for about 90 minutes around 5 a.m.

“I was contacted by a friend who lives in the building who told me to come out because he believed White Plains Police just shot and killed my father,” said Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., who lives in the White Plains part of Greenburgh.

Despite all this, the Chamberlain family said it does not change their view of law enforcement.

“Me and my family are not anti-police,” said Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. “We are anti-individuals who feel like they can do whatever they want, to whom ever they want, then hide behind the badge—but we are not anti-police. My father was law enforcement, so why would we be anti-police?”

Carelli, one of several White Plains police officers named in a $10 million police brutality lawsuit, is expected to testify in front of a grand jury that began hearing testimony on Wednesday.

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. said that Carelli is entitled to a fair hearing and hopes that that Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore keeps her promise to his family.

“We’re just very pleased that the evidence is finally being presented to the grand jury,” he said. “We’re just waiting now for what the decision is going to be after they present all the evidence. Hopefully, they’ll come back with a criminal indictment. She [DiFiore] has assured me she will present any and all evidence on this case to a grand jury, and we’ve taken her word on that.”

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. said he doesn’t expect to hear anything back from the grand jury for the rest of the month, and that hopefully there will be a decision in May.

Click here for our coverage on the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. 

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