FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Valley Independent Investigative Team (VIIT), the organization investigating a June shooting involving Federal Way police, has learned that the gun the individual had was a “realistic-looking” replica.
On June 24, 19-year-old Caution Mann was shot by police. Investigators say he called 911 saying that he was having a mental health crisis and that he had a gun.
According to VIIT, when officers responded, Mann ran into a nearby apartment complex.
VIIT said officers followed him, as they were “concerned about the subjects’ erratic actions and suicidal ideations.”
Investigators say Mann held a gun to his head and then pointed it at officers, who shot Mann several times.
“He didn’t ask for none of this,” Charles Mann, Caution’s grandfather, said. “He asked for help.”
Mann has now been in the hospital for weeks and has undergone multiple surgeries.
According to his father and grandfather, hospital staff encouraged them to take him off life support because he likely would not survive, but they declined.
“His auntie, my sister, was like, ‘We love you, if you can hear us, blink,’” Curtis Mann, his father, said. “He blinked meaningfully.”
According to VIIT, it wasn’t until after the shooting that an investigation determined that the weapon Mann had was a “realistic-looking ‘CO2 powered BB gun.”
As of July 3, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said no charges have been referred yet, though they said Mann faces robbery and attempted robbery charges in a different case.
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