NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) – Nearly a year after two Norfolk Police officers shot and killed 25-year-old India Beaty, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office says the case review is near completion.
In a renewed push for answers, Beaty’s father, McKinley Beaty Sr. spoke to 13News Now about the case.
Beaty Sr. said it was a typical Friday night; he was hanging out with his buddies, talking about football on March 18, 2016.
“On my way out the door I glanced at the TV, and it said someone was shot in Ocean View,” he said.
He got home early the next morning and found out it was actually his daughter who was killed.
“I immediately got back in my car and went to where it happened. I was in disbelief, all the way to the coroner's office,” he said.
Police said officers were initially conducting a surveillance operation when they saw India and another man arguing nearby. They said India pulled out a gun and threatened the man.
Police ordered her to drop the gun but claim she made a threatening motion with it, and that's when they shot her. Police said they later learned the gun India was holding was a fake gun.
“They shot her five, six times... both legs, each shoulder, one in the chest. If that don’t look like an execution to nobody else, it do look like it to me. I just don’t understand. Since the case has been open so long, there’s a lot of stuff in the streets buzzing,” Beaty Sr. said.
India's father said he talked to several witnesses, including one who claimed he was interrogated by police for 19 hours and forced to confess that India had a gun.
“I don’t know what to believe right now. Only thing I believe is the truth: that my daughter is not here right now,” he said.
Beaty Sr. said he is positive that his daughter would have obeyed officer's commands. She had gotten in trouble before for falsifying checks, but she never had a history of violent crime. He said he’s not angry at police, he just wants justice for his daughter.
“If I’m angry and I go around and hurt the police because of what they did, I’m no better than them. I just want peace,” he said.
Once the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office review is complete, Norfolk Police will conduct its own internal investigation. The two detectives involved in the shooting were not wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.
It’s unclear if there is surveillance video from any of the surrounding businesses.
