The report released by the state inspector general found that the fatal shooting of Dyshan Best last March was justified because Best had a gun in his hand as he ran from police.
He died at the hospital, and the report notes that he waited an extra 10 minutes for a second ambulance to arrive.
"My uncle was my everything. He was a great uncle," said Best's niece, Tatiana Barrett.
Best's final moments were captured on police bodycam footage last March.
It shows the 39-year-old run away from officers investigating a call of individuals with guns.
Best had just attended the funeral of a childhood friend.
"He literally, just an hour before, had just buried him. Was a pallbearer for his funeral. He wasn't thinking honestly," Barrett said. "He was scared."
The chase ends with an officer fatally shooting Best. The state inspector general has determined the deadly force was justified, saying Best pointed a gun backwards at the officer while running.
Investigators say a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, but the family remains skeptical, saying Best only had a bottle of alcohol, a phone and a vape pen on him.
"We zoomed in and it appears to be the vape, so it didn't look like a pistol in his hand," said attorney Darnell Crosland. "Now, we see a pistol probably featured in this report, but we don't see a pistol in his hand. So, that's still questionable."
Though Best had a criminal record, the family says his life changed after starting a trucking job that took him across the country.
While questioning the shooting itself, there's additional outrage over the fact Officer Erin Perrotta was treated first.
The report found that the first ambulance was instead used to transport Officer Perrotta to the hospital for an anxiety attack. A second ambulance arrived, treated and transported Best. That second ambulance arrived 10 minutes later.
"They left him to die. They left him to bleed out and die," Barrett said.
"We have an inspector general's office that we feel leans towards the police," Crosland said. "We have ambulance that come and lean towards the police. And the community's upset because he lays there and dies while they deal with somebody having an anxiety attack. I think that's what they call it, and so that's totally unacceptable."
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