Police said they attempted to de-escalate the situation but the video shows that was not the case.
Joliet, IL — The family of Eldred Wells and Jabbar Muhammad have been regretting their decision to call police last year when Muhammad was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Just minutes after officers arrived on scene, both Wells and his grandson Muhammad would be killed — their lives taken by taxpayer-funded police bullets.
When local news first covered the story, there was no mention that Eldred Wells, 70, was killed. Police failed to mention that they killed this innocent grandpa while killing Muhammad. Now, however, after body camera footage was released this week, there is no doubt as to who took the life of both men.
As CBS 2 reports:
On Nov. 6, 2021, deputies responded to a call about an argument between 70-year-old Eldred Wells, Sr. and his 21-year-old grandson, Jabbar Muhammad. The caller, a relative, said Muhammad had a knife and was arguing with Wells.
According to records obtained by CBS 2 and interviews with family members, it appeared Muhammad was in the midst of a mental health crisis when deputies arrived that day. This was the second time in 10 days deputies were called to the home. Records show they responded to a suicide attempt by Muhammad on Oct. 27. He was admitted to the hospital and treated. He was released on Nov. 6, 2021 – just a few hours before the fatal incident.
Police said they attempted to de-escalate the situation. But when Muhammad stabbed Wells in the neck, police fired shots several times "in defense of Eldred's life," a statement from the task force investigating the incident said at the time.
The above statement led the public to believe that the officers were heroes in this situation but were tragically too late to stop Muhammad from killing Wells. But that was not the truth. The truth was that Wells did not die from the knife wound on his neck — he died from police bullets.
"This 70-year-old Black male, Eldred J. Wells, died of Multiple Gunshot Wounds. Multiple Stab and Incised Wounds were significant contributing factors to his death," the Will County Coroner's Office wrote in its opinion on March 1.
As the newly released video shows, the "de-escalation" was actually no de-escalation at all. Instead, the deputies began yelling and threatening as soon as he entered the home — a point the family made in their lawsuit filed in October.
"When the increasing yelling and agitation became too much, Jabbar Muhammad lunged" at his grandfather, and the deputies shot both of them multiple times, killing them, the lawsuit states.
Despite video showing the deputy shoot Wells, even after it was released publicly this week, the Will County Sheriff's office claimed they didn't realize they had shot him.
"At the time of the incident, it was unknown by Will County Sheriff's Office personnel if Eldred Wells was struck by gunfire as a result of the deputies firing their service weapons. During the investigation, the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force advised the Will County Sheriff's Office that Eldred Wells was struck by gunfire. In addition, the Will County Sheriff's Office learned the official cause of death of Eldred Wells upon completion of the Will County Coroner's Report."
Watch the video below.
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkCuYp0zR5A
