Viral Tweets Say Unarmed Black Teen Shot in the Back and Killed By Police "Over Pizza"

RALEIGH, NC — Protests broke out across the city of Raleigh following the death of Javier Torres. Viral tweets claim the victim was unarmed and shot in the back while running from police over pizza that was suspected stolen. Bodycam and dashcam footage of the incident contradict the viral claims.

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The Story Provided by Viral Tweets

According to a now-deleted viral twitter tweet by Racquel Bethea, and another tweet from twitter-famous Bishop Swan, which earned 30.1k retweets and 83.1k likes, police tried to stop an individual due to their suspicions that the pizza the individual was carrying was stolen. This individual then attempted to escape the police, who then allegedly shot the unarmed black teen in the back an unidentified number of times, which ultimately killed him.

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Here’s What Actually Happened

The Raleigh Police Department immediately launched an investigation per protocol. Bodycam and dashcam were released.

• Police responded to a 911 call which said a Hispanic male in a group of eight people had a gun and was flashing it. This individual's name would later be confirmed to be 26-year-old Javier Torres.

• The moment police arrive, immediately starts to sprint away from police, and the dashcam shows the suspect's gun clearly visible on his waistband the moment he starts fleeing, which the officers spotted.

• Now a suspect who has a gun is running from the police.

• Police told Torres to stop and drop the gun numerous times, all of which Torres continued fleeing.

• The suspect sprinted around a corner, running head-to-head with an officer. When the suspect ran at the officer, the bodycam showed the suspect had a gun in his right hand and raised it while progressing toward the officer, at which point one shot was fired, killing Torres.

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Misinformation: Damaging and Reprehensible

Just as a reference, the only thing that the original viral tweets had right about this incident was that he was shot and killed. He was not shot in the back, he was shot running yes, but toward officers (not away from!). The suspect was not unarmed, nor was he a teen. He was armed and was 26-years-old.

Blatant misinformation like what I’ve sourced here is extremely dangerous. It increases mistrust and tension between law enforcement and the black community, as well as other communities as well. The statistics are clear, there is NOT a disproportionate amount of young black males shot by police, and that idea is held on life support, surviving on misinformation posts such as this.

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References

Bishop Talbert Swan on Twitter. (2020, March 10). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2TI3uu3

Connor, T. (2020, March 11). Protesters Burn Governor's Flags After Raleigh Police Shooting. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/38M9eXY

Racquel Bethea on Twitter (Screenshot of Original). (2020, March 11). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2viW6fs

Johnson, A., Banov, J., & Stradling, R. (2020, March 11). Bodycam video shows Raleigh police officer shooting man with an apparent gun. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2wM5dWi

Raleigh Police on Twitter. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2IDPA5V

Sherman, L., & Eanes, Z. (2020, March 11). Misinformation spreads on social media after man is shot by Raleigh police. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2IH3Z1m

Wright, B. C. (2020, March 11). Video: North Carolina Police Shoot Man 'In His Back' Reportedly Over Stolen Pizza. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2vdqfww