FINDLAY, Ohio — Loved ones of Kalvin Darapheth, a 17-year-old whose family identified him as the person fatally shot by a Findlay police officer during a foot pursuit on Monday, gathered at Bernard Park on Tuesday to grieve his death.
Family members are also searching for the truth as the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation begins its investigation into the incident. Findlay police claim that Kalvin fled from officers responding to a report of juveniles consuming alcohol at the park and shot at an officer who then pursued him on foot. The officer then returned fire, police say, and Kalvin was struck.
"He was shy, quiet but if he was close to you, he could be funny," Kalvin's aunt, Lena Darapheth, said.
In a press release Tuesday morning, Findlay police said the juvenile shot in the incident had died. Police have not released the name or age of the juvenile, but Kalvin's family told WTOL 11 it was him.
Lena said Kalvin's death still doesn't "feel like it's real" and that "it hasn't sunk in."
A Findlay resident provided WTOL 11 with home security camera footage they say captured the sound of multiple gunshots from the incident. The footage does not show the actual shooting, though.
It is unclear at this time how many times Kalvin or the police officer, who has not been identified, fired shots. Lena says the amount of gunshots heard was excessive, though, and she believes Kalvin did not have a gun.
"One is enough on his leg," she said. "You don't need to kill him. This is not a war."
Philip Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University who studies police misconduct, said more information needs to come out before anyone can make judgments.
The Findlay Police Department said in a press release on Tuesday it is working with the Ohio BCI and the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office "on releasing redacted information in the near future regarding Axon Body Worn Camera footage."
"Sometimes the initial statements made by officers, the reports that are written by officers involved in these incidents, turn out to be inaccurate. Sometimes the statements and reports are factually inconsistent with the video evidence," Stinson said.
The body camera footage is exactly what Lena says Kalvin's family wants to see.
"We want to see the body cam," she said. "(To see) if he had a gun."