RICHMOND, Va. -- Community members gathered at Second Baptist Church Saturday afternoon to talk aboutMarcus Peters, the man who was shot by a Richmond Police officer in May.
Organizers said the meeting was to discuss Richmond Police Department’s policies and procedures in the wake of the shooting.
Peters was naked when he was shot by a police officer on the side of I-95.
Body camera video showed Peters charging at the officer and the officer's taser failing to restrain him.
One of the speakers was Princess Blanding, one of Peters' sisters.
She says that there needs to be more awareness of people struggling with mental health issues.
“My brother was clearly in distress," Blanding told the crowd. "The family and I have never seen Marcus behave the way he did before. But it did not warrant Marcus being killed. He needed help.”
Shortly after the shooting, Richmond Police officials issued the following statement:
"We are all deeply affected by what happened here – by the loss of life," Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said in a statement released by Richmond Police. "Our officers do not take the use of deadly force lightly. I think it’s important to remember that being naked does not remove a threat. So far, the eyewitness accounts we’ve heard have been consistent: our officer tried using verbal commands, then used non-lethal force first by deploying his Taser before using his service weapon."
