A 1-year-old boy who was shot in the head by a Houston police officer during an attempted car theft is still fighting for his life – and “didn’t deserve” to end like this, his mother said.
Daisha Smalls was pumping gas into a Chevron in southwest Houston on March 3 when an armed man fleeing the police tried to kidnap her while her son, Legend Smalls, was in a car seat, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“My baby is in the back seat!” Daisha Smalls shouted.
The suspect, identified as Broderick Woods, 33, was driving a Mercedes-Benz linked to at least two robberies when police chased him in a chase that ended at the gas station, where he tried to steal Smalls’s car, the reported newspaper.
A Houston officer identified as E. Garza opened fire on Smalls’ car, fatally injuring Woods, the father of three, and also struck Legend when the boy was sitting in his car seat.
“My son has been fighting every day for his life,” Smalls told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. “My baby didn’t deserve to be shot – especially not by the police.”
The boy remains in the ICU of a hospital, where doctors said they will need to “wait and see” if he can recover, according to civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who is part of Smalls’ legal team.
Crump is accusing the officer of putting Smalls, his son and others in danger by opening fire, NBC News reported.
“The objectivity is that there are innocent people in the line of fire,” Crump told reporters. “And we know that you don’t shoot unless you know what your target is. And the Houston police clearly didn’t know their target, because it hit Legend right in the skull. It is not a superficial wound. “
Crump and two other lawyers representing Smalls said they plan to file a lawsuit against the Houston police for the shooting, the Chronicle said.
Doctors removed the bullet from the boy’s brain, but some fragments remain. Part of his skull had to be removed to relieve the pressure caused by the swelling of the brain, Crump said.
“Why wouldn’t the police respect her life?” Asked Crump. “They knew she was in the car, an innocent black woman, but they started shooting the car.”
In a statement released Tuesday, Houston police chief Art Acevedo said the department was “waiting and praying” for Legend’s full recovery, while noting that the police officer involved was trying to prevent an attempted car theft.
“Fearing for his mother’s safety, one of our policemen unloaded his service weapon, fatally striking the suspect,” said Acevedo. “Unfortunately, the Legend baby was also hit.”
Executive assistant chief Troy Finner had previously said he did not believe the officer “realized” that Legend was in the car at the time, the Chronicle reported.
Garza, meanwhile, remains on administrative leave while the Houston police analyze the shooting.