It’s been more than a month since a Miami police officer ѕһᴏт and ᴋɪʟʟᴇԀ Antwon Cooper with a single ɡᴜпѕһᴏт to the head after the 34-year-old man tried to run away from a traffic stop.
Police say he had a ɡᴜп but his family denies that. And the body cam video released so far does not show him holding a ɡᴜп.
The incident took place on March 8, 2022 and Cooper’s family has retained lawyers and vows to file a lawsuit.
The body cam video released is from Miami police officer Gonzalez who had pulled Cooper over for displaying an expired temporary tag, ordering him to step out of the car after discovering Cooper did not have a drivers license.
The video shows Cooper handing over an identification card along with a copy of the car’s registration before stepping out. The video also shows the cop patting him down before Cooper attempts to run away with the cop trying to grab on to him to keep him from running, ensuing a struggle.
A single ɡᴜпѕһᴏт is then heard and the struggle ends.
The cop who fɪгᴇԀ the shot has been identified by the Miami Herald as Sergeant Constant Rosemond who had arrived on the scene during the traffic stop.
Rawsi Williams, an attorney representing Cooper’s family, was told by police the sergeant was not wearing a body camera which would probably have given us a clearer view of the struggle between the first cop who had pulled him.
The Miami Herald reports that the cop who was patting him down said “ɡᴜп” before Cooper took off running but it sounds more like he was saying “yo! yo! yo!” as Cooper starts running away but it is debatable (What do you hear around the 16-second mark in the video below?).
Miami police said they recovered a ɡᴜп at the scene but Miami police also has a history of planting ɡᴜпѕ on people they have ѕһᴏт and ᴋɪʟʟᴇԀ.
Williams, the attorney representing the family, stated the following about the incident on her website:
Officer Gonzalez exits his vehicle and approaches the red vehicle Mr. Cooper is driving, going straight to the driver’s window which Mr. Cooper lets down. At the time of the stop Officer Gonzalez does not make Mr. Cooper aware of the reason for the stop, but a non-confrontational exchange occurs between Officer Gonzalez and Mr. Cooper wherein Officer Gonzalez requests Mr. Cooper’s license and registration.
Mr. Cooper provides the registration but states he doesn’t have his license. Officer Gonzalez instructs Mr. Cooper to exit the vehicle. Mr. Cooper complies. Officer Gonzalez initiates a pat down and Mr. Cooper tries to run. Officer Gonzalez grabs Mr. Cooper. There’s a short tango-2-step of Mr. Cooper still trying to run and Officer Gonzalez still trying to hold Mr. Cooper by the shirt and at some point by the hair because Mr. Cooper has very long dreads, They are not fighting, punching, or hitting one another, nor is Mr. Cooper fighting, punching, kicking, hitting Officer Gonzalez, brandishing a ɡᴜп or any wᴇɑρᴏп. There is no ɡᴜп or any wᴇɑρᴏп in Mr. Cooper’s hand at any time during this tango-2-step or the entire encounter, including when the SGT later drives up on the scene. Mr. Cooper is trying to run while Officer Gonzalez grabs his dread when the SGT arrives, exists his vehicle, and ѕһᴏᴏтѕ Mr. Cooper in the side of the head with the bullet exiting the other side of Mr. Cooper’s head while simultaneously yelling “get down.” Mr. Cooper never saw it coming.
That same SGT does not render aid per Law Enforcement involved in this case, although he remained on the scene for hours.
The facts and implications put out by Miami PD keep changing in attempts to exonerate the Officer. That is why the facts are always limited, only in favor of the officer, or illogical without any evidenced corroboration. Initially it was implications that the officer initiating the stop ѕһᴏт Mr. Cooper. That was not true. It was the Sergeant. Then and now it continues to be that “a ɡᴜп was found on the scene.” Yet, they omitted that at NO time did Mr. Cooper ever have a ɡᴜп in his hand at any point during this encounter or draw a ɡᴜп or do they have any footage of a ɡᴜп in Mr. Cooper’s possession. In fact, Miami PD is still trying to identify the source of the ɡᴜп they found on the scene several feet away from the incident which they keep showing in pictures without any context, because they know that at no time was any ɡᴜп used in this encounter between Mr. Cooper and Officer Gonzalez. The only ɡᴜп used or shot by anyone on that scene was from the SGT to ᴋɪʟʟ Mr. Antwon “Twon” Cooper!! Further, Miami PD keep releasing information regarding Mr. Cooper’s criminal past to justify the SGT’s wrongful ᴋɪʟʟɪпɡ. However, neither the SGT nor Gonzalez knew Mr. Cooper’s identity at the time of the ᴋɪʟʟɪпɡ because Mr. Cooper didn’t have his license when Officer Gonzalez stopped him. The truth is just the SGT wrongfully and unlawfully ᴋɪʟʟᴇԀ this man like a dog in the street and didn’t even care enough in his humanity nor have the professionalism in his profession to render aid! The other Officers who responded after the SGT ᴋɪʟʟᴇԀ Mr. Cooper because Officer Gonzalez then called out a “ѕһᴏтѕ fɪгᴇԀ” for backup are the Officers who rendered aid.
The ѕһᴏᴏтɪпɡ is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Watch the video below. Miami police have not said whether the cop car had a dash camera that would provide another angle of the ѕһᴏᴏтɪпɡ.
Watch the video below:
