Trans Man in Virginia Killed by Police During Mental Health Crisis
A transgender man was shot to death by police in McLean, Va., in July, and his family is saying there was no justification for the killing.Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26, was having a mental health crisis when police were called to his home the evening of July 7, The Washington Post reports.
Lynch, who went by Aaron, lived with his sister and parents in McLean, a D.C. suburb. Only his sister was there with him at the time.He was “behaving erratically” and “holding a large decorative tribal mask made of wood in one hand and a wine bottle in the other” when officers arrived and encountered him in the house’s foyer, the Post notes.
He threw the mask at one of the cops, then advanced toward the others with the bottle raised as if he would attempt to use it as a weapon, as shown on body-cam video released this month.After the police fired Tasers at him with no result, one officer, Edward George, shot Lynch four times, killing him.
George is on reduced duty, and the incident is under investigation, McLean Police Chief Kevin Davis said.“Our officers were confronted with a very chaotic and dangerous situation,” Davis said at a press conference, according to the Post. “I want to be careful not to offer any assessments or any opinions.
