A Brooklyn man shot dead by police was laid to rest Wednesday as his family demanded a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. NY1's Rocco Vertuccio reports.
Saying goodbye is not always easy. For friends and family of James Owens it is especially difficult because of the way he died.
"It didn't have to end this way," said family friend Silas Butler. "It should have been more of a solution to this problem."
Owens was a 63-year-old emotionally disturbed man who was shot and killed by cops last week in the Canarsie home he shared with his sister. According to police, it happened after Owens lunged at them with a 13-inch knife. They say officers shot him three times after a Taser was not effective.
"What kind of damage could he have done to the police?" asked family friend Jean Wilder. "He's walking with a cane."
Owens' sister had called 911 that night because she said her brother was acting erratically.
"She called 911 to take him to the hospital for help, not to have please come to shoot and kill him," said attorney Sanford Rubenstein.
Owens' shooting was one of three police shootings during a 30-hour period last week.
At Owens' wake and funeral Wednesday, the family said they wouldn't have peace without justice first.
"They didn't follow protocol," said Rubenstein. "Protocol was to isolate him. Not to shoot and kill him."
The family wants a grand jury to investigate how police responded. Until then, prayers will have to do.
"We just asking for your prayers that the family gets through it we just need prayer right now," said family friend Cynthia Reed. "It's a difficult situation."
The Brooklyn district attorney will not comment about the case yet going to a grand jury. The office will only say the case is still under investigation.