The Illinois teenager who was shot by Village of Dolton police over the weekend says he did not have a gun in his hand at the time.
Carterris Doty, 19, has undergone multiple surgeries since he was shot around sometime after 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, according to his mother, Patrice Eason-Watson.
“My son is in pain,” she told ABC7. “I want to know why, why so many bullets? Why?”
At a news conference on Sunday, Nov. 1, Village of Dolton Mayor Riley Rogers said police responded to a report about a man with a gun in the Chicago suburb.
Police reportedly identified a man who matched the description of the armed individual, but he initially got away. After police caught up with him, they ordered the man to drop his weapon.
Rogers said officers fired their weapons at the man after he pointed a gun at them.
According to his mother, Doty said he was walking to a girl’s house and was hanging out with friends at the time that he was stopped and shot by police, and he did not have a gun in his hand.
“He said he did not have a gun in his hand and the police ‘came at me and they filled me with bullets,'” Eason-Watson said. State police said Doty’s injuries are not life-threatening.
Doty remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Footage of the shooting captured by a witness was shared by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and has been viewed thousands of times. In the video, the person filming can be heard saying: “He don’t have a gun, his hands are up,” seconds before officers fire the shots. At least five shots are audible in the footage.
The two officers who fired shots have been placed on administrative leave and body camera footage of the shooting has been turned over to the Illinois State Police. They said the footage would be released to the family before it is made public.
“I want answers,” Eason-Watson said. “I demand answers. Now.”
