The family of a DeKalb County man shot by police after calling 911 to report a stabbing met Wednesday with the prosecutor who will decide whether to file charges against the officer who fired the fatal shots.
That emergency call, said the family’s attorney, Mawuli Davis, proves DeKalb Police Officer Joseph Pitts did not provide enough time for Kevin Davis to drop his firearm. Davis was shot in the chest, arrested and charged with aggravated assault. He died two days later on New Year’s Eve 2014, while handcuffed to his bed at Grady Memorial Hospital.
His dying words, according to Mawuli Davis: “The police came in shooting.”
“He’s talking rationally, calm to 911, then all of the sudden he’s going to be a threat? It’s illogical,” Davis said.
The incident led DeKalb police to outsource investigations of officer-involved shootings to the GBI. Such probes were formerly handled internally.
Last week, the GBI turned over their findings to DeKalb District Attorney Robert James, who did not give the family any timetable on when he’d decide whether to prosecute the officer. A second DeKalb officer, Robert Olsen, is under investigation by the agency for last month’s fatal shooting of Anthony Hill, who was unarmed at the time. Olsen said he shot Hill, nude at the time, because he ignored his commands to stop, and witnesses verify the Afghanistan war veteran was aggressively approaching the officer.
Davis, 44, was armed but was not pointing his weapon at the officer, according to all accounts. Pitts shot Davis because he feared for his safety, DeKalb Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Davis had called 911 to report that his girlfriend, April Edwards, had been stabbed by a roommate, who had fled the apartment. He remained on the line, seeking instructions on how to treat her injuries, when he heard gunshots outside his door, Edwards said.
Pitts had shot Davis’ pit bull just in the hallway outside the apartment. Davis, who had no idea law enforcement was responsible, Mawuli Davis said, grabbed his gun to and went to the front door, where he encountered the officer.
The attorney has listened to the 911 tape and said no more than 30 seconds elapsed between the shootings of the dog and Davis.
“He was never given an opportunity to drop his weapon,” Mawuli Davis said. “There was no time for [Kevin Davis] to react.”
DeKalb police refuse to release the recording of the 911 call to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Pitts, a three-year veteran of the DeKalb force with no prior shootings on his record, is back at work. Davis had no criminal record until the night of his shooting.
Delisa Davis said Wednesday she is confident after meeting with James that her brother’s case will receive a fair hearing.
“He didn’t deserve what they did to him,” she said.
Family members said they were prevented from seeing Davis while he was hospitalized due to the aggravated assault charge.
About the Author
