National Debater Killed by Police: This Could Be Your Son

Perseverance on getting a story national attention should change everything. Sadly, it doesn't always work that way.

Killings in the United States by police this year are averaging more than two killings a day, according to the Washington Post.

This has got to stop.  This next story could have been your son.  This could have been my son.  Now, Feras Morad is everyone's son.  And he is an innocent victim of a crime.

A fatal police shooting has come to my neighborhood and this young man who graduated from high school with my son is dead.

Feras Morad was a kind soul and a national debater.  And now at the age of 20, he is dead because the Long Beach Police used lethal gunfire for someone who was already injured and disoriented.   Most importantly, he was unarmed.

Reportedly, Morad was shot three times as he was stumbling around after falling from a second story window.  His friends were looking for help for their friend who was injured and bleeding and so they called 911 for medical help.  The chain of events after that led to the police shooting.

His story is making headlines in Los Angeles on NBC and CBS.  Morad's story is also on Reddit and it's gathering attention.  There's a concise article from reporter Tom Cleary on Heavy.com that tells you the five fast facts you need to know about this case.

The original police account claims Morad was charging at the police and threatening them.  My son said Morad never was aggressive and he was respectful of authority.  Watch the videos of Morad from high school.  In most of the videos, he's dressed in a suit and tie, already looking like a future attorney.

Listen to all of the eyewitness accounts.  They are in direct contrast to the police version.  Morad lost his glasses in the fall, he was bleeding and disoriented.  He was unarmed.  He needed medical attention not gunfire.  He had a bad reaction to ingesting shrooms.  He was a college kid in need of help.  Who in college has never made a mistake and had a drink or tried a drug?  If the police shot and killed every college kid who was in need of medical attention, they'd have a lot of body bags.

Feras Morad is not alone.  These kinds of stories about police shootings of innocent victims in need of help are being posted daily.

There's a Go Fund Me account for Feras Morad's family.  Why didn't the police notify the family of their son's death?  This makes no sense.

There's a Facebook account calling for Justice 4 Feras.  There are already thousands of supporters on that page.

On my Facebook page, I am friends with a police officer.  He wears a camera on his body at all times.  He posts videos of helping people in need and video of his arrests.  He proves it can be done without gunfire.  He is aware he's videotaping and he follows the letter of the law.

I've conducted police funerals.  I respect the police.  But the police are not perfect.  They make mistakes and they commit crimes.  Pulling the trigger on a gun is a crime when a phone call is made seeking medical attention for someone who is bleeding and potentially dying in the street.

If my son is ever seriously injured or in need of medical attention, I now will think twice before calling 911.  I will attempt to drive my son to the hospital first.  I don't want my son to be shot dead because I have called for help.  That decision may save my son's life.

I ask you to join Justice 4 Feras on Facebook.  Share his story on your blog.  Ask a national reporter to tell his story.  Contact the morning network shows to tell his story.  Write to your legislators asking for action.  And maybe, just maybe, we'll get the Feras Morad Justice Law requiring body cams on all police officers.  If wearing a body cam prevents one more shooting and makes a police officer attempt one more alternative method than pulling the trigger on a gun, it should be the law of the land and named for Feras Morad, a young man who had the world in front of him.  He would have been an amazing attorney.  His voice will not be silenced or forgotten.  But everyone must speak up on his behalf.

Remember, Feras Morad is everyone's son now.

Update:  Eye Witness Account of Shooting.