The mother of a 1-year-old boy who was accidentally shot in the head by a Houston police officer said his son was still in intensive care after the incident earlier this month.
Daisha Smalls was pumping gas on March 3, when police chasing a suspected robbery shot her in the car and injured her baby, Legend Smalls. The suspect, who was killed, jumped in Smalls’ car and a policeman feared he was trying to kidnap her, said Finner, chief of the Houston Police Executive, after the shooting.
“My son didn’t deserve this,” Smalls said on Tuesday when talking about the incident with his lawyer Benjamin Crump.
Legend, who was in his car seat at the time of the shooting, had to remove the right side of his skull, his mother said.
“He still has bullet fragments in his head and is in the ICU,” said Smalls. “And I just want my baby to be safe. … I just want him to recover. “
Legend stayed on a respirator for more than 10 days and had several seizures, according to Smalls’ lawyers. The part of his skull that was removed was due to the swelling of the brain because of the bullet.
Smalls was in her car when the suspect tried to get into his car and demanded that she give up her vehicle. Knowing that Legend was in there, she refused, Smalls said.
“When the person jumped in my car and the police were right behind him,” said Smalls. “Before I knew what [was] happening, they were already shooting at my car, and I was just scared for my son’s life. “
Crump, a civil rights lawyer, accused the Houston police of putting the mother, child and other people in danger by shooting the suspect. Even though they didn’t know that Legend was in the car, the cops knew that Smalls was in, Crump said.
“The objectivity is that there are innocent people in the line of fire. And we know that you don’t shoot unless you know what your target is, ”said Crump. “And the Houston police clearly didn’t know their target because they hit the legend directly on the skull. It is not a superficial wound. “
Houston police issued a statement on Tuesday, again stating that the officer involved in the shooting believed that Smalls was being robbed.
“Fearing for his mother’s safety, one of our policemen unloaded his service weapon, hitting the suspect with death,” said Houston chief Art Acevedo. “Unfortunately, baby Legend was also hit. Officers on the scene immediately provided Legend with first aid. “
The case is being investigated by the department’s internal affairs and special investigations unit, and a separate investigation is being conducted by the county district attorney. Acevedo described the investigations as procedural and customary.
The officer who fired his gun is on administrative duty, which is also standard procedure, Finner said the day after the shooting. The officer was “deeply concerned” about Legend’s well-being, according to Finner.