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WILMINGTON, DELAWARE (9/26/2015) Wilmington police released a portion of a 911 call late Friday to dispute claims that a man who was shot to death by city police this week wasn’t armed.
In the call about 3 p.m. Wednesday, a frantic woman repeats several times that the man in a wheelchair, later identified as 28-year-old Jeremy McDole of Wilmington, had shot himself in the parking lot of an AutoZone store on Scott Street and still had a weapon.
“In the interest of preserving public safety and to address the specific question of whether Mr. Jeremy McDole was armed at the time of the incident, the Wilmington Police Department is releasing a portion of the 911 call related to the incident. The remainder of the call will not be released at this time,” read a statement released by Alexandra M. Coppadge, spokeswoman for Mayor Dennis Williams.
“Yesterday, Chief Bobby Cummings confirmed that the investigation into the officer involved shooting is still actively ongoing by the Wilmington Police Department and the Delaware Department of Justice’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust. As standard protocol, the Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust and Wilmington Police Department both review cases where an officer discharges a firearm resulting in injury or death,” Coppadge said.
Police have said the four officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duty pending outcome of the investigation.
Phyllis McDole, mother of the victim, has claimed her son wasn’t armed and that a cellphone video posted to YouTube contradicts police descriptions of the incident.