ACLU demands New Bedford police shooting review - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

ACLU demands New Bedford police shooting review

Civil rights groups are demanding a review of a police shooting that killed a 15 year old New Bedford boy.

 Andrea Medeiros

amedeiros@abc6.com

Malcolm Gracia was stopped for doing a gang–type handshake, back in May. When he was questioned, he pulled out a knife and stabbed a detective. Officers then shot the teen six times.

The District Attorney's Office has already ruled it justified, but the ACLU wants the attorney general to get involved.

"There's a couple of kids there and they made a handshake, we send two police cars, four officers there to go take a look at what happened," said ACLU Legal Director John Reinstein, "Maybe that's appropriate maybe it's not, but we're not told why."

The ACLU is not looking for criminal charges but wants some questions answered, like whether police should have fired the second round that killed Gracia and if the "meet and greet" tactic they used to stop him is even legal.