The family of an African-American shot dead by bounty hunters in Texas on Tuesday denounced an "ambush" carried out according to them by private actors who "played" at the police.
Walter Hutchins, 31, died Feb. 23 in a Houston hospital after being shot and wounded by men posing as bounty hunters, according to local police.
In the United States, these private actors are generally employed by companies specializing in the payment of bonds allowing defendants to be released pending trial.
In order not to lose the sums committed, these companies call on private detectives to ensure that the accused comply with their legal obligations and do not abscond.
In some states, including Texas, they can make arrests.
"They ambushed him"
According to the Houston police statement, the perpetrators of the shootings against Walter Hutchins claimed to have wanted to execute an arrest warrant against the young man, who would then have opened fire, forcing them to retaliate.
But his relatives released the images from a surveillance camera which, according to them, call into question the version of the bounty hunters who, at this time, have not been arrested.
On this video, filmed at night and which has no sound, we see the young man get into his car, then two vehicles park behind him to prevent him from leaving.
Men rush towards him, their guns pointing forward.
The video was uploaded by J. Prince, a Houston rap producer who is a family member of Walter Hutchins.
“We all understand that there was an arrest warrant and stuff, but that's not a green light to kill a man, or to play policeman,” he said at a Tuesday interview. 'a press conference.
He notably reproached these men for having waited for their target for several hours without calling for police reinforcements, then for not having announced themselves before throwing themselves on him with their weapons.
“They had a plan”, “they ambushed it”, added his aunt Emma Johnson.
“Even if they are considered bounty hunters, they cannot be judges, jurors and executioners at the same time” and “deliver their verdict in seconds”, added the famous lawyer Ben Crump, who defends many black victims of police violence.
According to a spokesperson for the Houston police, the investigation is continuing and a grand jury should be constituted to decide the legal consequences.
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