PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — We’re getting a first look at body-worn camera footage of the deputy-involved shooting death of Tony Cox.
It happened in Pontiac on Dec. 13, 2023, as Oakland County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped Cox’s vehicle, saying it looked similar to another car tied to a shots fired call four days prior.
In the video, Cox is met by several deputies during the stop. He told them he was afraid. He then maneuvered around a deputy’s vehicle and drove off — the sheriff’s office says he nearly struck one of the deputies.
Cox’s vehicle was stopped soon after as a deputy performed a PIT maneuver on his car.
Cox got out — hands clasped and extended toward officers, but he does not have a gun. The first shot rings out. Cox then runs and is struck several more times and later died.
“We believe it’s the rounds when he was hit nine times in the back. Those are the fatal shots,” attorney Todd Perkins said.
I asked Perkins if his argument was that, at that point, he no longer posed a threat as he was running away from the officers.
"That’s not an argument. That’s a fact. How can you pose a threat to an individual when you’re running away from them?" he said.
Perkins and attorney Joel Sklar are representing Cox’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
“I just believe that there could’ve been a better way. If he’s telling you he’s scared. He gave you the info you asked for, no problem,” said Tanaisha Cox, Tony’s sister.
“The incident was investigated by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit (S.I.U.) and independently by the Ingham County Sheriff's Office. Both entities found that the actions of the deputy sheriffs were objectively reasonable under the circumstances,” said Stephen Huber, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer.
The investigator from the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office tasked with reviewing the incident came to this conclusion, saying in part:
“…any reasonable police personnel, presented with these case facts, would have believed the suspect, Tony Cox, posed a threat of serious bodily injury and or death to deputies… it is also my opinion that after the suspect assumed a shooting stance and began to run from the scene of the crash, any reasonable police personnel would believe the suspect was armed, had just committed violent felonies, and that he posed a present danger to the police officers on the scene as well as to the public at large.”
Perkins says he and Sklar are moving forward with their suit intent to get justice for Cox’s family.
“It definitely confirms everything we’ve been feeling that he should still be here, and we miss him dearly,” said Tiffany Macon, Cox’s sister. “Tony wasn’t armed. As officers, I feel like they should’ve made sure he wasn’t armed.”
