The city will allow La’Vante Biggs’ family to review a Durham Police Department internal report on the fatal police shooting of the 21-year-old man in September.
“Out of respect for the La’Vante Biggs family, the city has offered them an opportunity to review the contents of the Internal Affairs file,” City Manager Tom Bonfield said in a statement Friday. “Hopefully, it will answer many of the questions they have regarding the incident along with the investigation.”
After the family or their representatives review the files, the city may decide to make portions of them public, Bonfield said.
Police say Biggs was suicidal and holding a weapon when police responded to 911 calls from him and his mother in the 1700 block of Angier Avenue. The Durham NAACP and Biggs’ mother, Shanika Biggs, say police mismanaged the situation and that Biggs’ death could have been prevented.
Shanika Biggs said she hasn’t arranged to review the files. She said she doesn’t think the review will ease her concerns.
“I really don’t have trust in anything that they do,” she said Friday.
Interim Police Chief Larry Smith has indicated that officers didn’t violate any policy in the actions taken before, during and after the Biggs shooting. On Tuesday, Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols announced he had found no criminal wrongdoing in the Biggs shooting.
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