BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - Family and community members in Brookline are demanding action, more than four years since the death of Juston Root.
His family is calling for an independent investigation into his death.
Root’s sister hopes momentum in other recent officer-involved cases will bring more attention to her brother’s death.
She is also calling for more accountability in law enforcement.
“They need to be independently investigated with independent fact finding,” Jennifer Root Bannon said. “All of them. Because that’s how you get to accountability, I mean you have to have that transparency. None of those investigations are impartial. And we want accountability. Once there’s accountability, then things will change.”
Root was shot and killed by police in 2020. Officers shot him nearly 30 times when they say he ignored their commands.
Officers first shot at Root outside Brigham and Women’s Hospital when investigators say he showed what appeared to be a gun. It was actually a paintball gun.
Root was hurt and took off from the scene. There was a chase and he was killed in Chestnut Hill.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office cleared the officers who shot Root of any wrongdoing in 2020.
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