“He wasn’t everybody’s angel, but he was my angel.”
The mother of the Brooklyn teen killed by cops admitted that her son was no innocent — but said he was hardly the gun-toting gang-banger authorities described.
In her first comments since the death of her 16-year-old son, Carol Gray criticized the violence that broke out in the shooting’s aftermath, but disputed claims he was armed.
The NYPD maintains that cops fired on Kimani Gray only after he pulled a gun on them, and sources have said he was in the Bloods.
“When they told me that he had a .38 gun on him, I said, ‘No, not my coward son.’ He would have been too scared to carry a gun,” Carol Gray said.
And she insisted that Kimani was not a gang member.
“All young kids that hang out in groups are considered to be gang members by police. There is no gang affiliation or initiation for Kimani,” she said.
“I don’t condone any riots, looting or violence against police officers. I want a thorough investigation,” she said. “I only want justice for two police officers to be off the street before they hurt another young kid,” she said.
The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Kimani died after being hit by seven bullets when two cops opened fire on him.
“Even after the first shot, why the second bullet? Why the third bullet? Why the fourth bullet? Why?” Gray asked in tears.
Mayor Bloomberg extended his sympathies — but also defended cops.
“Anytime a teenager is killed, it really is a tragedy for,” he said. “So far, all the indications are that the young man had a gun.”
Officer Jovaniel Cordova, one of the cops who shot Kimani, was honored in 2009 by his precinct as cop of the month after shooting an alleged Crips gang member who had a gun, a law-enforcement source said.
Police released the official report of the shooting today, according WABC.
The report details how Cordova and Sgt. Mourad Mourad saw Gray standing outside on East 52nd street adjusting his waistband.
The officers approached the teen, identified themselves and “Mr. Gray immediately drew a firearm and pointed it first at Officer Cordova and then back at Sergeant Mourad, and then back at police officer Cordova,” the report states.
Meanwhile, about 100 people showed up at the 67th Precinct station house in East Flatbush last night to protest the shooting of Kimani Gray.
Unlike previous nights of mayhem earlier this week, last night’s demonstration was peaceful.
Additional reporting by David Seifman and Rebecca Harshbarger