So the video has been released to the press (or at least an edited version of it).
I can fully understand why the police were called. The kid is wandering about in a public place waving a gun about and generally being kind of a dick. Obviously the family have told everyone what a little angel he is and I'm sure they believe that but to me he just looks like a bit of a wannabe gang member trying to look hard
On the matter of race the familys attorney said:
Again, given the situation I'm not sure I would have reacted any differently than the police officer that shot him. I certainly don't think this is a matter of "institutional racism". Relevant tale: a very good friend of mine is an officer in TSG 5, Met Police. The same TSG that got all the grief about the G8 riots a couple of years back. Anyway - their job is to do all the nasty bits that the rest of the Met don't like getting involved in (public order, crime swoops, drug busts, midnight door entrys that kind of thing). He got a load of grief from some local "people of colour" for "picking on all the black boys" and being racist and yes he was pretty much just arresting black people. Was he institutionally racist? No - he was working in Lewisham. As he said to the woman that was giving him grief "you find me a white guy doing something wrong and I'll nick him too". If you're working in a predominantly black area where crime is predominantly committed by young, black males - what else are you supposed to do but arrest young, black males?