Fred Cox, an 18 year-old Black man, was fatally shot last November by a North Carolina sheriff's deputy. His family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit claiming that he was protecting a mother and her child from a drive-by shooting."Fred is dead because he was a hero when Black," Ben Crump (the civil rights attorney representing Cox) said during a Wednesday press conference.The federal lawsuit against the Davidson County Sheriff's Office & Deputy Michael Shane Hill seeks damages for six counts. These include excessive force, wrongful deaths battery and negligence and violation of Cox's Fourth & 14th Amendments.According to the complaint, Hill used "unreasonable force and deadly force" against Cox when he was trying to save the lives of a mother with a young son.Cox attended the memorial service for Jonas Thompson at Living Water Baptist Church, High Point, on Nov. 8, 2020. Hill, a plain-clothed sheriff's deputy investigating Thompson's murder was present at the funeral as well at the request the victim's family.As the crowd was leaving the funeral services, shots were heard from the drive-by shooting just outside the church. Cox was parked in his car in the opposite parking lot. The lawsuit says that Cox ran into the church to open the door for a mother with her 12-year-old son, and he did so in the midst of the chaos.Hill opened fire from behind on Cox while he was holding the door. He then shot Cox multiple times, killing him instantly. He was the only victim of the attack.North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation initially stated that Hill reported seeing Cox holding a gun at the time of his shooting and that other witnesses had seen a handgun nearby.However, Cox's family members and attorneys have denied that claim, claiming that he was not armed.Continue the storyThe lawyer representing the mother and child who fled to the church on Wednesday said that Cox couldn't have been carrying a gun because he was using one hand for opening the church doors and the other to bring them inside during the shooting.Crump stated that Hill was still shooting at them all and that the bullet grazed the hand of the 12-year-old boy.According to the complaint, Fred Cox "saved the lives of the mother and her sons before he fell", making sure that they were safe inside the church before trying to enter.Authorities said that there was no evidence Cox was part of a gang, or that he had fired a weapon. Hill won't face criminal charges, after the Guilford County grand juror decided not to indict him.The attorneys representing the Cox family stated that they believe Hill is still employed by the sheriff's department and have not been disciplined for the shooting.The sheriff's office didn't respond to our requests for comment.Tenicka Shannon, Cox's mother, stated at the news conference, "I can't speak enough about Fred not being dead."Shannon broke down and said, "Our family is still experiencing deep grief." "Our sadness is compounded by sheer confusion over how this tragedy could have occurred."Shannon stated that her only child was a well-mannered, self-confident man who would "give you the clothes off of his back."Crump stated in a statement that "for so long, police have seen marginalized persons stopped and injured for driving while Black or riding a bike while Black" Crump said that the officer shot the young man in the back while trying to save lives in a dangerous situation.
