RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A police chief’s report that a black man drew a gun before he was fatally shot by an officer caught mourners off-guard as they prepared to lay him to rest Friday.
The funeral for Akiel Denkins, 24, was scheduled less than a day after the preliminary report was issued saying Denkins pulled a gun from his waistband and then reached toward the officer’s weapon during a struggle. Denkins’ death at the end of a foot chase had angered members of the predominantly black neighborhood where the shooting happened.
People who knew Denkins were shocked by the new details.
“It did catch a lot of us off guard,” said Casanova Womack, who had mentored Denkins since 2011. “But right now our primary focus is on getting prepared for the funeral.”
Raleigh Police Chief C.L. Deck-Brown’s report for city leaders, which offered the first detailed description of the shooting, contained the following account: