Mother of man shot and killed by South Bend Police speaks out

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind., --- Dante Kittrell's mother held a press conference Saturday afternoon, about her son who was shot and killed by South Bend Police last month.

Kittrell, a black man who advocates believe was suffering a mental health crisis was shot by police on July 29th outside Coquillard Traditional School.

Police got reports Kittrell was apparently suicidal and was waiving around a gun near the school.

Officials said after attempts to deescalate the situation, he was shot by the swat team.

His mother Marcia Kittrell spoke out about the shooting Saturday, saying she wants justice and she doesn't want any other parents to deal with something like this.

"I don't want another mother to watch her child be gunned down by police. His name is Dante Kittrell," said Kittrell's mother Marcia. "He was a human being! And I stand for him as his mother."

At Saturday's news conference, the family's lawyer Sean Drew also said that a formal request for South Bend's FBI office to open an investigation into the South Bend Police Department's handling of the Dante Kittrell shooting death will be filed on Monday.

Drew said it's because of the department's history with conduct in relation to people of color.

Advocates also believe Kittrell was suffering from a mental health crisis and are pushing city officials to launch mobile mental health crisis response teams county-wide.