Family of man killed by Oakland police blasts delays

Latonya Perkins (left), Regina Perkins-Bradley and Ada Perkins Henderson take part in a news conference near the spot where Richard Perkins was killed. Latonya Perkins (left), Regina Perkins-Bradley and Ada Perkins Henderson take part in a news conference near the spot where Richard Perkins was killed. Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Family of man killed by Oakland police blasts delays 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

The family of a man shot and killed last year by four Oakland police officers who said he pointed a pellet gun at them denounced Tuesday what they contend was a drawn-out process of obtaining critical details of his death — including the coroner’s autopsy report and surveillance footage.

Richard Perkins, 39, was shot 15 times the evening of Nov. 15 by three rookie officers and a sergeant who has been on the force for seven years. Police said Perkins pointed a replica gun at the officers just prior to his death — an assertion disputed by family members, who earlier this month met with homicide detectives to view security video of the incident.

The four who opened fire — Sgt. Joseph Turner and Officers Jonathan Cairo, Joshua Barnard and Allahno Hughes — remain on paid administrative leave while the case is being investigated.

Next of kin were not notified of Perkins’ death until two days after the shooting, according to the coroner’s report and the family.

Ada Perkins Henderson, his mother, said she came across the aftermath of the shooting and watched detectives working from the periphery of the crime scene, not realizing who had died there.

“I was praying for someone else’s son,” she said. “I didn’t know it was my son I was praying for.”

Family members also said it took four months and repeated requests before they got a copy of the coroner’s report or viewed footage of the shooting, which was obtained by police from a gas station security camera.

Officer Marco Marquez, a police spokesman, said Tuesday the public and media were not allowed to view the video because of the department’s investigation. The officers’ body cameras were not activated during the entire encounter, Marquez said.

The family said the video showed Perkins walking down 90th Avenue toward Bancroft Avenue in Oakland with a fake pistol, later identified as a Desert Eagle replica pellet gun, in his waistband when officers fired on him without warning.

“He thought that the best way for him to make it home alive would be to tell the officers that he had a toy gun,” said Cat Brooks, co-founder of Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project, who joined the family for a news conference Tuesday morning at the spot Perkins died.

His siblings said he was in the area because he wanted to look at motorcycles, a passion of his, which had been impounded by police after a series of illegal sideshows that weekend.

“You did not give him no command, no fair warning, no nothing,” said Latonya Perkins, one of his sisters. “He was never threatening to no one.”

Police, meanwhile, said Perkins had drawn the realistic-looking pellet gun and pointed it at officers, who quickly scattered and fired their weapons.

Marquez said he could not comment on the contents of the video.

According to the autopsy findings, obtained by The Chronicle from the coroner’s office, of the 15 bullets that struck Perkins, several hit him in the back. Toxicology results showed traces of cocaine and methamphetamine in his blood system, according to the report.

“We see in case after case after case that the coroner’s office, which actually is the sheriff’s department, colludes with the Alameda County police departments to keep this information from families,” Brooks said.

In keeping with standard protocol, Oakland Police Department’s internal affairs division and homicide section are investigating the shooting. The Alameda County district attorney’s office is also probing the incident, as it does with all officer-involved shootings in the county.

“While we recognize that in certain circumstances the use of potentially lethal force is necessary, our greatest value is human life and the community we serve,” the Police Department said. “The Oakland Police Department is committed to transparency. However, a complete investigative process requires information be limited in order to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”

The incident was the seventh officer-involved shooting in Oakland last year and the fifth fatal one.

Family members said they are preparing to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov