The mother of a man who was fatally shot by a Phoenix police officer addressed City Council members on Wednesday to call for “justice” for her son.

Remarks about the March 23 death of Francisco Valdez made up the entirety of public comments at the afternoon meeting in Phoenix City Council chambers, with activists and neighbors demanding an independent investigation into the shooting and the firing of the officer who shot.

Speaking in Spanish with the help of a translator, Lorenza Valdez described how she called police because her 24-year-old son was in “distress” and she was afraid he was going to hurt himself. In the initial report, police said Valdez had called because her sons were in an argument and she was afraid the situation would escalate.

Valdez said Francisco was lying down on the couch when the first responding officer arrived, and that she told this officer her son had mental-health issues.

She said the situation deteriorated when the next two officers arrived. Francisco had asked if he could go put some clothes on, and she asked the officers to follow him, for fear he would try to hurt himself. Valdez said she stepped out of the trailer to speak to an officer, and within three seconds began hearing gunshots.

“I’m asking for justice because of the way they took my son’s life,” she said, dabbing her eyes. “I don’t want any other family to have to live through this. I know many of you have children. … The way they took my son’s life shouldn’t have happened.”

Two neighbors, including Luz Enriquez, also addressed council members on Valdez’s behalf.

“The only thing I ask for is justice for this boy who was killed by police because that was an assassination,” Enriquez said in Spanish.

Wednesday wasn’t the first time Valdez has spoken out about her son’s death. She was interviewed by The Arizona Republic the following day and spoke at a press conference called by Phoenix activist the Rev. Jarrett Maupin the following week.

Maupin was nowhere to be seen Wednesday afternoon, but Valdez had reinforcements throughout the chamber's gallery and standing by her side as she spoke.

Valdez is now supported by the local immigrants-rights group Puente, which is also holding a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Puente is asking for police body-camera footage from the crime scene to be released, and is asking for Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone to investigate the case rather than Phoenix police.

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