NAACP officials demand “unbiased and transparent investigation”
by Christina Coleman
An 18-year-old Black teenager is dead after police in Roanoke County first tased, then fatally shot him during a Friday, Feb. 26 encounter.
The teenager, identified as Kionte DeShaun Spencer, was carrying a BB gun at the time of the officer-involved shooting. Spencer, a student at Hidden Valley High School, A 911 caller reported that a Black male wearing a hoodie and a bandana was waving a firearm in the parking lot at about 7:15 p.m. Friday night.
Officers who arrived on the scene ordered the teenager to stop. When he did not comply, police proceeded to stun Spencer twice with a taser to no avail.
The officers then fired at him. The BB gun was still in Spencer’s hand when he was shot. Police say they were not aware the firearm was not real at the time of the shooting. Spencer was shot twice — once in the hip and once in the collarbone.
During a press conference following the shooting, images of similar weapons were shown. “So you can see in this picture the weapon that our officers saw in the subject’s hand and how it compares to the 9MM pistol,” said Roanoke County Police Chief Howard Hall. Police say the preliminary investigation shows that officers were following protocol.
“This was a deadly force encounter, despite the fact that we know now that this handgun was an air gun,” said Chief Hall. Spencer, who was transported within 15 minutes, died at a nearby hospital.
Brenda Hale, president of the NAACP Roanoke chapter, demanded that video of the incident be released by the department, adding that she is “extremely concerned” with how the investigation is being handled.
“We want to get out in front of this so it doesn’t become like other incidents around the country,” she said.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave. An investigation continues.
Local Update:
The victim’s brother, Carl Spencer from Martinsville, was joined by leaders of the Roanoke Branch NAACP for a news conference held Tuesday, March 1 in the Kroger Cave Spring Corners parking lot near the site of the fatal incident.
“These are some of the worst few days of my life…He was my only brother,” said Spencer, a mild-mannered 21-year-old who works at a nursing home in his hometown of Martinsville.
Approximately 40 others who gathered voiced concerns regarding yet another altercation involving the questionable use of deadly force by police.
From prepared remarks local NAACP president Brenda Hale said, “Kionte was not armed with a lethal weapon. We believe the situation could have been handled totally different. Deadly force should never be the first option… Now we are faced with so many unanswered questions in Kionte’s premature death by police officers.”
Hale continued officially requesting “an unbiased and totally transparent investigation…release of the officers names and the police dash-cam video.”
“We are seeking the absolute truth no matter what that reveals.”
The news conference closed as Rev. Alonzo Smith, pastor Price Memorial AME Zion Church in northwest led a prayer as supporters stood with hands joined.
“Father we pray for the community and for the police force that every young Black man they see they do not take it unto themselves to believe that he is a criminal.”
Among those gathered to pay their respects was 16-year-old Julia Mays, a junior at Hidden Valley High who was one of Kionte’s high school classmates. She described the slain teen as outgoing, upbeat and one who “always loved to dance wearing his big headphones and bandana. He would draw crowds in the school halls with his dancing… he was different and embraced his difference.”
“This is outrageous; videos not released, (authorities) not notifying the victim’s family until a day later, etc. There are a lot of elements here that could parlay into marches and rallies and demands–otherwise they (authorities) will just bury this case,” said one supporter, Bryan Pfeifer referring to the shooting and the events following the incident.
A vigil for Kionte was held Wednesday, March 1 at 8:00 a.m. at Hidden Valley High.
