Family members of an Ohio man who they say was fatally shot by police while cleaning his late grandmother’s home are demanding answers about her death as they await the release of body camera video of the incident.
Joe Frasure, 28, was killed in Wyoming, Ohio, early Monday morning by officers who they said were responding to a call about a possible robbery.
Relatives said Frasure was at her grandmother’s apartment to clean it up after her recent death.
“None of it makes sense to us,” said Erika Frasure, who is married to Frasure’s half-brother, Joe Frasure Jr. “It was a robbery call. He was somewhere where he was supposed to be. None of this adds up.”
Hamilton County prosecutors are expected to release the body camera video on Friday, Wyoming Police Chief Brooke Brady said.
Erika Frasure said family members were told they could view the video before it was made public.
Wyoming police said officers responded to a call about a possible burglary at an apartment building at 12:37 a.m. Monday and found Frasure and her father in the back of the building.
Frasure “was in a minivan and refused orders to exit,” Brady said in a video statement.
“The minivan reversed at high speed before hitting a tree, at which point the vehicle sped rapidly toward our officers,” he said.
The officers fired four shots at the minivan as it moved toward them, Brady said.
Frasure was shot and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced brain dead and later dead Tuesday night, according to officials and his family.
Frasure’s grandmother died in early January and family members had spent all of Sunday at her apartment, Erika and Joe Frasure Jr. said.
Frasure was trying to jump start another relative’s vehicle so they could get off the property, they said.
Frasure and Joe Frasure Jr. have the same father and grew up together.
“He was my best friend. He was my brother,” said Joe Frasure Jr. “All the kids love him, and he had that country boy touch.”
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
Among the people who drew attention to the case was prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who tweeted about it.
Wyoming is a city of about 8,700 in the Cincinnati area, about 12 miles north of downtown.
“I want justice, I want answers, and I want the consequences,” Joe Frasure Jr. said.
