The family of a 21-year-old man who was shot and killed Friday by Montgomery County police outside a McDonald’s is questioning the department.
Ryan Leroux was shot and killed at a McDonald's in Gaithersburg. His father said police fired 24 shots.
Police say Leroux was in a car with a gun in the front seat.
An officer on the radio can be heard saying, "He's sitting in the car. Gun is on the passenger seat. I'm backing up. He's unresponsive."
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Ryan's father, Paul Leroux, told News4 his son was in a bad place. He had a mental health issue and had lost his job, grandmother and longtime girlfriend. Ryan was living out of his car and had recently bought a gun legally, for his own protection.
Paul Leroux said he reviewed some of the police video and didn’t see a gun in his son’s hand.
"They all unload on him and he supposedly raised a handgun. If you want to know my perspective, he raised his hands. He just raised his hands up. There’s nothing they’ve been able to show or prove that he raised his handgun. Nothing. And then they just went crazy,” he said.
“We are conducting an independent investigation and that will be reviewed by the state’s attorney’s office. That will decide if the actions were justified by the officers," said Carmen Facciolo, the police department's new civilian assistant chief.
