Tensions rise over Detroit police killing of man they say fired first at officers

DETROIT — Detroit police fatally shot a man Friday afternoon while investigating a deadly Fourth of July block party — an incident that quickly escalated and sparked tensions between law enforcement and police brutality protesters.

Police Chief James Craig says the victim was an alleged gang member who pulled a semi-automatic weapon out of his waistband and fired at the officers first.

But demonstrators aren’t convinced and have converged on the scene, where 50-plus protesters huddled in the rain chanting “No Justice, No Peace” and “Black Lives Matter” while officers in riot gear stood by.

“We don’t back down to bullies with shields!” the crowd yelled, over and over again.

According to Craig, who held a press conference about an hour after the shooting, here is what happened:

At about 12:30 p.m. Friday, Detroit police had gone to a west side neighborhood to arrest a suspect in the Fourth of July killings. While approaching the suspect, he said, a second person arrived at the scene and got into a struggle with an officer, allegedly pulling a semi-automatic pistol from his waist and firing shots over his shoulder at police.

“The officer pushed him away, that’s when additional officers, fearing for their lives … fired several rounds striking the suspect,” Craig told reporters at the scene. “We’re still very early in this investigation … Based on what I know right now, this suspect was unprovoked and just fired on the officers.”

According to Craig, police have recovered the gun that the suspect allegedly used on police, along with casings from that weapon.

Asar Amenra, a man who described himself as the uncle of the victim, doesn’t buy any of it.

“We hear one thing from the police, and another thing from the community. The community told us that the police pulled up, told (him) to get on the ground. He put his hands up, and these mother f——-s shot him in the back of the head,” said Amenra, adding his sister had been to the hospital and saw his nephew’s body. “He has got two shots in back of his head, plus other bullet wounds.”

Amenra said the time for peaceful protesting is over.

“We aren’t doing any Martin Luther King peaceful s—- no more … These young people are ready for war,” he said.

Amenra identified the victim as 20-year-old Hakim Littleton, who he described as a “typical young kid” who worked all the time and was “doing his thing.”

According to Craig, following DPD protocol, the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duties pending the investigation.

According to Craig, the shooting stems from a July 4 party where shortly after midnight an argument broke out and led a shooting. Eight people were shot; three died.

Following the shooting, police from the 12th Precinct and a gang intelligence unit did surveillance in the area and received tips about a possible suspect, he said, so they went back to the scene on Friday to make an arrest.

According to Craig, that suspect was wanted on an outstanding felony warrant and allegedly had ties to a local gang. When police went to arrest him Friday at about 12:35 p.m., as they approached to arrest, he said, officers observed a second suspect walking in their direction. That man was an associate of the wanted suspect, he said, and allegedly also had ties to a gang.

Craig said that as an officer approached that second suspect to question him, a struggle ensued between the officer and the suspect, who allegedly pulled out a gun from his waistband and started firing shots over his shoulder at the officers.

According to Craig, the main suspect that police had gone to arrest was taken into custody without incident and is now being interviewed. No officer was injured in the shooting.

The identities of the suspects have not been released.

The shooting comes against the backdrop of a nationwide Black Lives Matter movement protesting police brutality.

“There’s been a lot of violence in our city,” Craig said. “That’s certainly a concern.”