Pearl Murphy is demanding answers from Cleveland police regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of her only son, 42-year-old Kevin McQueen.
In September, McQueen was being rushed by friends to the emergency room with a gunshot wound, when they were pulled over by Cleveland police.
Murphy wants to know why, as he was dying, it was a priority for police to search McQueen and his friends, rather than get him to the hospital.
McQueen was shot in the Lakeview Terrace Apartments off Detroit Avenue.
“I got a call, a telephone call, to get to the hospital right away,” said Murphy.
Murphy said a group of McQueen’s friends were rushing him to the hospital, speeding in fact, when police noticed and pulled over the minivan they were all in.
"She said that they made them get out the van and made them lay on the ground. She said for a good 15 minutes if it wasn't 20 that they laid there and they searched them. They went to the van, and they searched my son,” said Murphy.
Now, she has one question for the officers involved.
“Why was it so long that they was detaining my son, to get to the hospital because them 15 minutes could've meant saving his life.” she said.
The answer isn't so simple. A police report for the incident reveals police almost immediately administered first aid to McQueen, but waited until a commanding officer showed up at the scene to transport him to the hospital.
The Cleveland Police Department has body camera video from the incident, but can't release it they say, because McQueen's death is still an active homicide investigation.
“Why can't I see it? I want to see it, I want to know what happened, I need to know what happened so I can have peace and I need to know the real story,” said Murphy.
Police say after McQueen’s homicide case has gone to trial and has been adjudicated, they will release the video.
