Police investigated for shooting unarmed black man and 'leaving him in wheelchair'

Jerry Smith claims he has to use a wheelchair as a bullet is still lodged in his hip

Police officers in Wisconsin are under investigation for shooting an unarmed black man on a garage roof.

Jerry Smith Jr, of Milwaukee, has said a bullet is still in his hip and that he has been in a wheelchair since the incident in August last year.

Police officers responding to reports a man with a gun confronted 19-year-old Mr Smith, who matched the description of the man they were looking for, Fox6Now reported.

Mr Smith said that he ran from a police officer on a bicycle who had scared him, onto a roof. Two officers pursued him and told him to put his hands up.

The video shows that Mr Smith put his hands up, but then lowered them. At that point the officer holding the gun fired three shots. One bullet grazed Mr Smith’s head, narrowly missing his brain.

Mr Smith told the Milwaukee news station TMJ4 that he was not carrying a gun, nor does he own one, but was holding a phone in his right hand that he was using to call his mother. "I really don't know why they shot me," he said in a video interview. "OK, I ran, but the officer scared the hell out of me, man."

Because the shooting was not fatal, the police department does not need an outside department to investigate the shooting. Both officers in the video are currently still at work, on administrative duty.

The district attorney has deemed the shooting justified, as the officers believed that Mr Smith was reaching for a weapon when they fired, Fox6Now reported.

Mr Smith’s legal team acquired the body cam footage and released it. They are asking the US Attorney’s office to look at the video and reconsider the verdict. They also said they hoped the case would bring attention to improving Milwaukee police training.