OAKLAND (BCN) — The family of a shoplifting and carjacking suspect shot and killed by Emeryville police officers who followed her into Oakland in February will file a federal lawsuit, representatives of a group organizing around the shooting said today.
The family of Yuvette Henderson along with attorney Dan Siegel will announce details about the lawsuit outside the Ronald V. Dellums Federal
Building in Oakland on Thursday, according to the Anti-Police Terror Project, a group organizing to prevent police shootings.
Henderson, 38, was a suspect in a shoplifting at the Home Depot at 3838 Hollis St. on Feb. 3. Emeryville police said she had stolen knives from
the store and when confronted outside, pulled a revolver on store security guards.
She then ran down Hollis Street and allegedly tried to carjack at least three different drivers. One witness said she pointed the revolver at one driver as Emeryville police officers were arriving.
Emeryville police said she then turned her gun on two officers, prompting them to open fire. Henderson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Several protests were staged in the area of the shooting and at the Home Depot in the following weeks, claiming the officers used a military-style assault rifle during the shooting and demanding the release of surveillance video from the storage facility where she was shot.