Update (February 20, 2019): A new development in the details surrounding rapper Willie McCoy’s death suggests the officers who killed the rising musician fired at least 25 shots in McCoy’s direction, per an NBC News report.
An attorney for the 20-year-old’s family tells the news site that bullets struck the late rapper in his face, throat, shoulders and portions of his ears.
“Overkill is an understatement,” Oakland-based lawyer Melissa Nold said after examining the young man’s corpse in the days following the February 9 ambush.
According to HuffPost, a coroner’s analysis has not been released. Because the probe is still ongoing, the Vallejo Police Department refused to provide any more updates about the status of this case.
However, a second counsel representing McCoy’s family told The Mercury News they are in the process of submitting legal proceedings, which acts as a foreword to a formal lawsuit, against the Vallejo police precinct. A dispute against the city of Vallejo will also soon follow.
“It’s in the works,” attorney John Burris said.
Although a public records petition was submitted by The Mercury News to reveal the six deputies who murdered the young man, police are keeping the identities of the officers a secret.
Original: Six members of the Vallejo (California) Police Department fatally shot and killed a man as he slept in his car.
Per The Guardian, 20-year-old Willie McCoy, who rapped as Willie Bo, was reportedly found in his vehicle outside of a Taco Bell restaurant on Saturday. Around 10:30 p.m., a restaurant employee called the police after noticing he was "slumped over" in his car.
When police arrived on the scene, they saw McCoy asleep with a handgun in his lap. The officers called for backup and asked the young man to "keep his hands visible" before firing multiple rounds after believing he reached for his weapon.
His older brother, Marc McCoy, spoke to the publication sharing how police racially profiled the artist who showed no visible threat.
“There was no attempt to try to work out a peaceful solution,” McCoy said. “The police’s job is to arrest people who are breaking the law – not take the law into your own hands. You’re not judge, jury and executioner … We’re never going to get over this.”
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, McCoy's death mirrors several other police shootings in the Bay Area in recent years. Oakland police killed a sleeping homeless man in 2018 after claiming he was armed.
Updates regarding the incident are pending.
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