The Lima Chapter of the NAACP and family members of 43-year-old Quincy Pritchett met at the spot where he died to demand answers and transparency into the investigation. According to the Allen County Sheriff’s Office, on June 21st around 2:30 am, Deputy Izak Ackerman was attempting to pull over Pritchett, who didn’t stop. A short car chase led to a foot chase near the intersection of Second and Taft streets where shots were exchanged killing Prichard and striking Ackerman in the face. The Ohio Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. But the family wants to see any video and reports that law enforcement has gathered during the investigation.
“We want to keep the community together as one and that is only going to happen if we work together,” says Gwen McLaurine, Pritchett’s Aunt. “So we would like for them to talk to us. I have been begging since the day he passed away and they have simply refused or I just get a nasty answer. We just want real answers. We need closure. We want the reports.”
The NAACP would like to see three actions come from this, the Allen County Sheriff’s Office get body cameras for their deputies. They also would like to see transparency into the investigation and policy created for officer-involved shootings in the county.
“There has to be protocol established, so in the event of something this tragic take place there is already an established protocol for how long local law enforcement have to inform the community, so people are not making up their own stories,” says Ron Fails, Pres. Lima Chapter of the NAACP. “You know an absence of information, people create their own. It does nothing to unify the community, it does nothing to bring us together. What I like about this family is they are not accusing law enforcement. They do not know who is responsible for what. They just want to know what led up to this and we as an organization want to know.”
