The family of slain 17-year-old Jessica Hernandez, shot dead by Denver police last week, has requested the Department of Justice open a civil rights investigation into the killing.
“As we mourn the devastating loss of our beloved daughter Jessica Hernández, we seek justice for her tragic and senseless death,” the family said in a statement, television station KMGH reported on Friday.
Police Chief Robert White reportedly expressed his confidence in the department’s own probe into the killing.
“I feel very comfortable with the commitment and the integrity of the police department to investigate it,” he said at a press conference on Thursday, according to the station.
“We are aware of the DPD’s history of conducting lengthy and fruitless investigations that serve only to exonerate its officers,” the family statement said.
The police chief initially told reporters that Hernandez was driving a stolen car and hit one of the two officers, though an eyewitness who was in the car when police opened fire contradicts the cops’ account.
The witness told KUSA on Tuesday that police opened fire on Hernandez, causing her to lose control of the car and injure one of the officers.
Another witness said police told her not to film the aftermath of the shooting.
“We are dismayed that the DPD has already defended the actions of the officers and blamed our daughter for her own death, even while admitting they have very little information,” the Hernandez’s statement added.
KMGH also reported on court records showing that state troopers had ticketed Hernandez on New Year’s Day for speeding, eluding a police officer, resisting arrest and driving while her license was suspended for a prior traffic violation.
Don’t steal cars. And stop creating racial issues when crime is the problem.