Kansas man killed by cops was shot in back. Black Lives Matter: ‘People like killing us’

A month and half after Dominique White was killed by Topeka police, Black Lives Matter activists have set up a “Camp Justice” outside police headquarters to demand answers.

The activists, as well as friends and family of White, are demonstrating after weeks of seeking information about the shooting. Family members have been saying since the Sept. 28 incident that too few details have been released.

Natasha Neal, a member of Sisters with a Purpose, which aims to combat social injustices, told The Star that organizers have been protesting at the department since Thursday. Among their complaints: Neither body camera footage nor the officers’ names have been released.

On Tuesday, Luther Ganieany, a Topeka police spokesman, said that “both officers involved were wearing body cameras and had them activated.”

The demonstrations come on the heels of the release of White’s death certificate, obtained by The Topeka Capital-Journal.

The certificate stated White, 30, died of “gunshot wounds of back.” Topeka police had initially said at least one bullet struck his chest.

White “walked through this world as a black man,” said his mother, Theresa Joyce-Wynne. “Due to his father being black and Dominique’s skin being dark, he was seen by everyone as a black man.”

Joyce-Wynne is white.

A Black Lives Matter activist spoke about the fatal shootings of African-Americans by police.

“People like killing us because of who we are and the space that we occupy,” said Caleb Stephens, a Black Lives Matter coordinator for the group’s Lawrence chapter, outside the department. “There is nothing that this man did that could ever deserve to be gunned down in the street. Nothing.”

Filmmaker Savannah Rodgers recorded Stephens’ comments, which he delivered on Friday.

The Capital-Journal reported there were about 25 people at the camp Sunday night.

“To finish our grieving as a family, we need these answers — whether we like the answers we get or not, we need them,” said White’s sister-in-law, Heather Joyce.

Topeka police Lt. Colleen Stuart said shortly after the Sept. 28 incident that White was armed and struggled with police.

“In the process of trying to secure the firearm, (White) struggled with officers and attempted to flee,” Stuart said. “While fleeing from officers, the individual reached for the pocket containing the firearm, causing the officers to fire their weapons.”

The Lawrence Police Department is conducting an independent investigation of the incident to ensure impartiality, said Ganieany.

Neither department has said whether White was the suspect firing the reported gunshots in the area, to which the officers were responding.

Topeka police’s policy manual says lethal force is authorized in “objectively reasonable” situations.

Factors for determining reasonableness must include at minimum: “The severity of the crime at issue; whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others; and whether the suspect is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.”

White, who is from Topeka, was a father of four.

“No longer will we meet murder with silence,” Stephens said. “No longer will people that look like us be eradicated.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Kansas man killed by cops was shot in back. Black Lives Matter: ‘People like killing us’."