LOS ANGELES — A legally blind man suffering from schizophrenia who was fatally shot by police at a California gas station was the victim of a "cold-blooded execution," his attorney charged Thursday, after a surveillance video was released that raises questions about whether the man advanced on officers with a knife.
The video was posted Wednesday on YouTube by attorneys for the family of James Hall, who was killed on Nov. 22, 2015, in Fontana after police responded to a call of a possible robbery at the gas station.
A police statement at the time said officers encountered Hall outside the gas station with a knife and a rock. It said Hall retreated into the store, refused to surrender and advanced on officers before being shot.
The eight-minute clip, captured on the store's security cameras, shows an officer entering the store with his gun drawn as fellow officers arrive and Hall moves further into the store. The video, which does not have sound, appears to show Hall at some points holding something, but the item isn't clear. At other times, Hall looks empty-handed. The video shows a throng of officers pointing guns at Hall as he moves sideways along a counter, leans on it and then collapses.