Unarmed naked black teen, 17, is shot and killed by Austin police after refusing orders and 'charging' at a veteran officer

  • David Joseph, 17, was shot and killed by Austin police after 'refusing orders and charging' at an officer
  • Police said Officer Geoffrey Freeman, who is also black, fatally shot Joseph
  • Freeman responded to multiple calls about a naked black male chasing another through an apartment complex Monday morning
  • In-car dashboard cameras failed to capture video of the shooting, but audio of the incident was picked up 

By Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Published: 16:02 EST, 9 February 2016 | Updated: 01:30 EST, 10 February 2016

David Joseph, 17, was shot and killed after police say he refused orders and charged at an Austin police officer 

David Joseph, 17, was shot and killed after police say he refused orders and charged at an Austin police officer 

An unarmed naked black teenager was fatally shot by an Austin police officer. 

David Joseph, 17, refused orders to stop and charged at the officer, according to Austin police. 

Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley says Officer Geoffrey Freeman fatally shot Joseph on Monday when the teen refused orders to stop and charged at the officer. 

Police said they received multiple calls of a naked black male acting erratically just before 10.00am Monday.

Manley says Freeman initially responded to a report of one male chasing another through an Austin apartment complex.

When Freeman, who is also black, got to the neighborhood, he could not find any potential suspect. 

He cleared the call but stayed in the neighborhood, eventually locating Joseph shortly after 10.30am. 

Joseph was naked when Freeman found him and was not in possession of any weapon. 

In a verbal statement issued shortly after the shooting, Freeman said that he provided Joseph with an initial set of commands, but that Joseph did not respond to them. 

Instead, Freeman said, Joseph charged at him and he fired his handgun. 

Austin police Chief of Staff Brian Manley (center) said Officer Geoffrey Freeman fatally shot teenager, David Joseph, after he refused orders to stop and charged at the officer 

Austin police Chief of Staff Brian Manley (center) said Officer Geoffrey Freeman fatally shot teenager, David Joseph, after he refused orders to stop and charged at the officer 

Police said they received multiple calls of a naked black male acting erratically just before 10.00am 

Police said they received multiple calls of a naked black male acting erratically just before 10.00am 

Tuesday at the press conference, Manley declined to speculate as to why Freeman did not deploy his Taser, according to the Austin Chronicle. 

Freeman has been an Austin police officer for 10 years. He's been put on administrative duty.

Manley said Internal Affairs will conduct an investigation to determine whether Freeman's actions were in according with the department's policies.

The department's Special Investigations Unit will also look into the incident to determine whether Freeman broke the law.

An autopsy is being conducted by the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, who will be able to determine if there were any alcohol or drugs in Joseph's system at the time of the shooting.

Manley added that the in-car dashboard cameras failed to capture video of the shooting, but indicated that audio of the interaction was picked up. 

Scott Medlock, the attorney for Joseph's family, told the Statesman: 'How much of a threat could a boy pose to police under those circumstances?' 

He added that Joseph's mother needs answers and she wants to know why they responded by shooting him.

An in-car dashboard camera failed to capture video of the shooting, but audio of the altercation was picked up 

An in-car dashboard camera failed to capture video of the shooting, but audio of the altercation was picked up 

Civil rights groups have criticized the fatal shooting and said it showed the need for Texas law enforcement to undergo de-escalation training to avoid using deadly force, according to BuzzFeed.

Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder met with Joseph's family Tuesday. He said the family is distraught and overwhelmed with grief. 

'The bottom line is a young man is dead,' Linder said. 'He lost his life based on poor conduct and terrible tactics.'

Joseph was a charter school student at Premier High School and was on track to graduate this spring.

He had played football at Connally High School and he wanted to go to college this fall, his family said.

Civil rights groups have criticized the fatal shooting and said it showed the need for Texas law enforcement to undergo de-escalation training to avoid using deadly force

Civil rights groups have criticized the fatal shooting and said it showed the need for Texas law enforcement to undergo de-escalation training to avoid using deadly force

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