Répression & dérives sécuritaires USA: un sans-abrit abbatu par la police à cause d'un couteau EN PLASTIQUE

Reports: Albuquerque police activist is mother of Milton Hall, homeless man killed in altercation with police
SAGINAW, MI — Milton Hall, the 49-year-old man who was shot several times by Saginaw police on July 1, is the son of a police activist who has criticized the number of police shootings in Albuquerque since 2010, according to SFGate.com, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jewel Hall told the Albuquerque Journal that Milton Hall was her only son and "they didn't have to kill him."

She said witnesses told her that her son walked into a store for coffee and "either forgot to pay for it or made a remark to the clerk," which is why the clerk called police.

She said he was holding a "plastic knife, like you would get in the convenience store," according to reports.

Police said Milton Hall was wielding a 3-inch folding knife.

Several sites, including the Albuquerque Journal and SFGate.com, refer to Jewel Hall as an Albuquerque police critic because she has been pushing for a federal probe of the Albuquerque Police Department over 24 officer-involved shootings since 2010.

Jewel Hall attended her son's funeral in Saginaw on Friday, six days after his death. She cried in the church's front row during much of the ceremony.
Milton S. Hall's funeralView full sizeJeff Schrier | MLive.comPastor Rev. Eddie Jackson presides over the funeral for Milton S. Hall at New Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, 3404 Sheridan in Saginaw. Hall, a homeless man, was shot and killed by Saginaw police.

Milton Hall was shot outside of the Riverview Plaza on July 1. Police said he was acting aggressively with a knife.

Media reports last week indicated that he was shot 46 times.

Witnesses said they heard 20 to 30 gunshots and questioned why police killed the man.

The director of public safety and training at the Delta College Police Academy, Mike Wiltse, said that edged weapons are treated as lethal, just as guns are.

"We treat an edged weapon just like a gun because research and history has shown us that edged weapons can kill just as easily as guns can. We teach in basic training to treat edged weapons as a fatal situation," Wiltse said.

Milton Hall's cousin, Michael Washington, told The Saginaw News "Milton wouldn't hurt a fly" at his funeral.

Jewel Hall told the Albuquerque Journal that her son struggled with a mild form of mental illness through the years but was able to live on his own and did have an apartment in Saginaw.
The Michigan State Police is investigating the case. They have not yet released any details regarding the case.

Contact Erica Perdue at 989-372-2503. Follow her on Facebook and @EricaPerdue on Twitter.