Jul 13, 2009 7:34 pm US/Eastern
Army Veteran Shot Dead On NYC Stoop
Family Of Shem Walker Believes Undercover NYPD Officer Didn't Identify Himself Before Pulling The Trigger
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
A family is calling for justice after an Army veteran was gunned down on their front stoop. An undercover police officer shot and killed Shem Walker during a struggle.
But family members said the cop never identified himself.
"We all going to be looking for justice because it should have never happened," said Debra Walker, the victim's ex-wife.
Debra Walker told CBS 2 HD her 49-year-old ex-husband, a veteran from Pennsylvania, always tried to keep trouble away from his mother's home at 370 Lafayette Ave.
On Saturday the could-be bad guy he encountered on her steps turned out to be an undercover narcotics officer.
"He said, 'Mommy, I'm going for a smoke.' That was the last time … oh my God," said the victim's mother, Lydia Walker, before breaking down in tears.
Police said Shem Walker beat the undercover cop over the head as he sat on the steps. Investigators said he then grabbed the officers' gun with both hands, before it went off twice, striking him once in the chest. Family members aren't buying that story.
"I know what they're saying is false. It's a lie. It's definitely a lie. He's not that type of a person. He's not a violent person," Debra Walker said.
Daughter Shavonne Walker said her family was sitting next to the front window, and no one heard an altercation or anyone shout "police." They're now hiring an attorney.
"Soon, very soon. All that stuff is in the works," Shavonne Walker said.
Court records show in 2000 Shem Walker was charged with intent to sell and deliver drugs. Police said he was convicted, served more than three years in prison and was paroled in 2007. Those who knew Walker said that's a life he left behind.
"He was a part of the effort to clean out the drugs from the community and now has fallen victim as a result of his efforts to be a Good Samaritan and it's terribly unfortunate," Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries said.
The Brooklyn district attorney is still investigating.
The undercover officer has been placed on administrative duty.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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