Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY
NEW YORK CITY -- As the family of a teen shot to death by police prepared to hold a news conference this evening, people who live and work here in Brooklyn's East Flatbush section expressed mixed reactions to demonstrations and violent clashes that have erupted over the incident.
Longtime resident Rose Green said it is nothing new for young African American men to clash with the NYPD in this neighborhood of modest brick and wood-frame homes, small apartment buildings and independent retail stores. She said she knows little of the details of how Kimani Gray, 16, was shot and killed, but she does wish police would show more patience and restraint.
"This kind of thing happens all the time around here, police and young people having problems," Green, 55, said of the shooting. "This kind of thing has got to stop -- the young people being shot down."
Green, who was helping out in her sister's beauty salon about a block from where the shooting happened, added, "If the police could just, when they approach young people, could try to question them and find out what's wrong before shooting."
Claudia Gibson, who lives in Brooklyn and who works in the neighborhood, said no matter the circumstances, people should not have responded with violence.
"You can protest peacefully. You don't have to use violence," said Gibson, 60. "That wasn't called for. You can't answer violence with violence."
Life around the shooting scene appeared quiet and routine Thursday, a sunny, cool day in New York. Adults and children ran errands or walked home from school or the bus stop while police officers, some bundled up because of the biting temperature, stood on street corners.
Kimani "Kiki" Gray's mother, Carol Gray, and other relatives had held back since the shooting Saturday night but finally decided to hold a news conference. Police said the 16-year-old pointed a .38-caliber revolver at officers, who then fired. A gun was recovered at the scene.
His family disputes that the teen had a weapon. A spokesman for Gray's parents had said previously that they would not speak publicly as long as there was violence, which he said has "clouded their message."
"It's a tough time for the community," said the spokesman, Rev. Gilford Monrose. "But the family and myself do not condone the violence."
Most of those arrested at a vigil Wednesday night, the third straight day of protests, were charged with disorderly conduct. A police officer suffered a gash in the face after he was hit by an object tossed from a building.
Anger was palpable as a group of young people heckled police officers in helmets and later marched down a street.
The vigil's organizers tried in vain to calm participants. Some later threw bottles at police.
"I'm not going to tell people don't be angry, because we're all angry," said Franclot Graham, whose teenage son, Ramarley Graham, was shot and killed after police chased him into his Bronx home last year. An officer has been charged with manslaughter. "It's OK to vent, but you have to respect the family's wishes and be peaceful," he said.
The medical examiner's office ruled that Gray was hit seven times, and had wounds in both the front and back of his body, including his shoulder, rib cage, forearm and legs.
The teen was with a group Saturday night but left when he saw police in an unmarked car, police said. Authorities said he was acting suspicious, and plainclothes officers approached him. According to police, Gray pointed a .38-caliber revolver at them, and they opened fire. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Gray was black. The officers involved in the shooting were black and Hispanic. They have been placed on administrative duty.
A police officer may use deadly force when the officer has a reasonable fear of serious injury or death. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the shooting appeared to be within those guidelines.
But Gray's family maintains he wasn't armed.
"I want to see justice," said Jamal Williams, 18, a friend who grew up with Gray in the same East Flatbush neighborhood. "I want to see these cops taken down."
On Monday, dozens of people threw bottles and damaged some stores. Police released surveillance video of two convenience stores where people are seen throwing fruit and stealing. In one, the cashier cowers in a corner as people loot the shop.
"I don't think that should have any relationship to a peaceful demonstration," the police commissioner said of the thefts.
Kelly said the group was disorderly, but he didn't characterize it as a riot as some newspapers did.
Rickford Burke, president of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy and an organizer of Wednesday's vigil, condemned the looting. He said the disorderly response came from a deep feeling of frustration in the community that police officers regularly harass and target young black men.
A second cousin of the victim, Ray Charles, said he was devastated to learn of Gray's death - and was still having trouble accepting the NYPD's official version of events.
"My cousin was scared of guns," said Charles, 35. "I honestly just want justice. They didn't need to shoot him like that."
Most of the people shot by police in 2011 were black and Hispanic, according to NYPD statistics. Nine people were shot and killed by police. Five had guns, two had knives, one tried to ram officers with a car, and another was choking an officer, police said. There were 19 people injured during police gunfire, and of those, 12 had firearms.
The 2012 report is not yet available.
Contributing: Associated Press
USA TODAY