“When Officer Mendoza fired the third and fatal shot, he knew that 12-year-old Thomas Siderio, five feet and 111 kilograms tall, no longer had a gun and could not hurt him,” Mr Krasner said. “Still, he fired a shot in the back that killed him.”
Thomas was later pronounced dead in hospital, authorities said.
When Mr Mendoza fired the third shot, Mr Krasner said he was about half a car from Thomas and “would have the opportunity” to see it clearly.
After the shooting, Mr Krasner said, Mr Mendoza made a “false statement” about his position when he fired the last two shots.
“When people make false statements about what happened, which is crucial to understanding the death of another person, in the law, it can be interpreted as showing knowledge of guilt, a feeling that you have to cover something up because you know that what you have done is illegal, “Mr Krasner said.
Connor Corcoran, a lawyer representing Thomas’ father, whose name is also Thomas Siderio, said he believed there was no “convincing evidence” that the boy had fired a gun.
“Until all this information comes out, I still think it’s very premature and reckless to speculate that my boy even fired a gun, but we’ll see,” Mr Corcoran said, referring to Thomas.
In a statement Monday, John McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Police Order, said Mr Mendoza, “like any other citizen, has the right to due process and we are confident that our judiciary will protect constitutional rights. to this officer in a fair trial. “
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