Oscar Grant's Cousin Was Unarmed When Shot: Attorney

The Oakland Police Department says Tony Jones was a suspect in a robbery case and he tried to flee.

An attorney for a man shot by Oakland police Sunday night said Wednesday that his client was seriously injured when an Oakland police officer shot him in the back, and challenged the police account of the incident, saying his client was running away and unarmed.

Police said Monday that an officer shot an armed suspect in the 2000 block of 62nd Street after he left a car suspected of being involved with a robbery in the area.

Police said they recovered a firearm at the scene.

But Tony Jones' attorney, Waukeen McCoy, said that his client was the man shot that night and that Jones denies he was armed and said Wednesday afternoon that Jones had not yet been booked on any robbery charges.

Oakland police spokeswoman Officer Johnna Watson said that Jones was placed under arrest late Wednesday afternoon under suspicion of four felony charges and that those charges would be sent to the district attorney's office.

Watson said the charges are armed robbery, an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle and carrying a loaded firearm on a person.

Jones, whose cousin was Oscar Grant III, the man shot and killed by a BART police officer in 2009, was seriously injured in the shooting and was left unable to walk, McCoy said.

McCoy said that after the traffic stop, Jones left the vehicle he was in and started walking away. The vehicle sped off, and Jones ran across the street.

He said that Jones underwent surgery on Monday afternoon, and is now in stable condition. But, McCoy said, "he has pain everywhere, he can't walk, he can move his legs but he hasn't been able to walk or urinate by himself."

McCoy said that the family hired him to represent Jones on Tuesday, but that when he attempted to visit his client at Highland Hospital, Oakland police and Alameda County Sheriff's deputies would not allow him to see Jones.

He said that during this time Jones was interrogated by Oakland police inspectors despite asking to see an attorney.

Watson said that while police may have initially denied McCoy access to Jones, it was only to verify who McCoy was and whether the family had hired him.

Bay City News
 

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