Warranted or unwarranted?
That’s the question surrounding the shooting death of a 16-year-old mentally-challenged boy last week in South St. Louis by an off-duty police officer.
Police say the boy, Joey Foster, and his friend approached an off-duty St. Louis Metropolitan Police officer as she sat inside her car at Lawn and Fairview, just north of her home.
The off-duty police officer observed that Foster had his hand beneath his T-shirt, causing her to place her service gun at her side for protection, according to City police.
She said Foster stopped at her car, raised a handgun and announced a robbery. Then the white rookie female officer shot the boy, with his friend fleeing from the scene, according to police.
Foster died at the scene, and Taylor was apprehended a short time later by police officers. Taylor has been charged with 1st degree robbery and remains in police custody, with the possibility of additional charges pending an ongoing homicide investigation.
The police officer has been placed on administrative duties, pending an investigation, per police policy. City police declined to identify the officer, confirming only that she was Caucasian and 22 years old.
She too could be charged in the case if warranted by the conclusion of the investigation, but it’s too early in the process for a determination, according to Ed Postawko, chief warrant officer in the Circuit Attorney’s Office.
According to the police department, the off-duty police officer was still inside her car when she fired on Foster.
They also confirmed that the boy was shot in the side and the buttocks, but not in the head as some reports have claimed.
The family of Foster has rejected the police department’s account of killing.
“I know one thing: my son didn’t have a gun,” said Foster’s mother Cynthia Austin.
“My son was going to school, he wrestled and was going to play basketball and was talking about making his grades better,” Austin said.
According to family members, Foster and Taylor had stopped by Foster’s grandmother’s house to wait on an aunt who was bringing him some money and a new pair of tennis shoes.
They then set out to catch a bus to a party, according to his grandmother, Cozetta Chatman of the 3700 block of Dunnica in South St. Louis.
Chatman said Foster was to start a job Monday and was happy about it.
“He was good, loving, friendly person and easy to get along with,” Chatman said.
“He was a little slow, but he was a good writer and made good poems,” his grandmother said.
Chatman said she just can’t see him robbing someone and had warned him about police and residents in the area.
“My home was a second home to him, but I had warned him and Amos about the police district over here about how they treat people and are hard on minorities – not just blacks,” Chatman said.
Foster’s mother said she believes City police officers are hostile following the shooting death of Officer Norvelle T. Brown, who allegedly was killed by a 15-year-old two weeks ago.
According to the Post-Dispatch, the off-duty officer was a Police Academy classmate of Brown’s and had just let a tribute to the fallen officer in North St. Louis.
Police spokesman Richard Wilkes responded to that charge, saying that he understands that the family is emotional, but there aren’t any facts to back their claim.
“It’s fair to say the officers are upset and emotional (about Officer Brown), but I don’t think they would allow that to affect the job they do on the streets; they still conduct themselves in a professional manner and follow guidelines of the police department,” Wilkes said.
Also, City Police Chief Joe Mokwa arranged for counselors to be available to help police officers deal with the death of Brown immediately following Brown’s murder.
Services for Joey Foster:
Wake: 2-7 p.m., Thursday, August 30 at Ronald Jones Funeral Chapels, 2161 Fair Ave., West Florissant.
Funeral: 10 a.m. Friday, August 31, San Francisco Temple, 10191 Hallsferry Rd.
A repass for school-age friends will be held at the Omega Center from 4-8 p.m.
A funeral fund has been set up. Donate to Joey Foster: Bank of America,
Cynthia L. Austin, trustee; wire transfer number 026009543.