With their heads bowed and their hearts heavy, family and friends of Tyler Damon Woods gathered to remember him. The 19-year-old Rialto man was shot and killed by Long Beach police early Tuesday morning.
"I can't believe I'm standing here like this. I just talked to my brother. Every time he'd see me, he'd tell me he loved me. I just cannot believe they did him like that," said Trejon Woods, the victim's sister.
Police say Woods ran from officers after a traffic stop. A check of his records showed he was wanted in Los Angeles for an armed carjacking. Woods evaded officers for over an hour until he was spotted on top of an apartment building. Police say the officers believed Woods was armed.
Once on the roof, officers say Woods knelt down and turned toward them, and that's when they opened fire thinking he was going to shoot. But relatives, who talked to Woods' friends who remained in the car, say police knew otherwise.
"Before he ran, they checked him; they searched him. We've been told that so many times. They had no reason to do that," said Gail Rosser, a family member.
"We need justice. We want everybody to just bring this story in because he didn't deserve what he got," said Ty Woods, the victim's aunt.
Loved ones say Woods had a big heart and always made people laugh. They believe he was the victim of an unjustifiable use of deadly force.
"He's made wrong decisions in his life, but that doesn't give anybody of any kind to take somebody else's life," said Johanna Marie Hines, the victim's aunt.
The shooting is still under investigation by police and the L.A. County District Attorney's Office.
