One man is dead after Carrollton police shot him Saturday night, when the man refused to drop a handgun he was allegedly pointing at officers, police say.
The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the 1100 block of Walnut Street in Carrollton after officers attempted a traffic stop, according to the Carrollton Police Department.
The man who was struck, 28-year-old Sterling Humbert, was transported to Parkland Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
On Wednesday, his family was critical of police, telling reporters Humbert was schizophrenic and police did not need to use deadly force.
"We want to know what happened and why it happened," Desiree Humbert, his sister, said.
According to Carrollton police, Humbert was initially pulled over becasue of outstanding felony drug warrants for possesion of heroin and meth.
Chief of Police Derick Miller addressed criticims of his officers use of force, saying in a statement:
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"Officers are trained in de-escalation techniques and employ them daily. Unfortunately, there are some situations such as this one that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving where de-escalation is impossible."
Miller called police video of the incident "disturbing" and says it backs up their story but also declined to release the video in order to "protect the integrity of the grand jury process."
Humbert family attorney Lee Merritt called for the release of the video and said Carrollton police failed to take into acount Humbert's mental health issues that he says police were aware of.
"If this happened the way law enforcement said it happened, it is still really, really problematic, they still failed this family and community in several respects," Merritt said.
Carrollton police confirmed to NBC 5 they have had prior contact with Humbert before the deadly shooting but said it is unknown if the officers involved were aware of his mental health struggles.
Police said the officers involved in the shooting would be placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting was investigated.
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