Stephenson King Jr.’s yearslong struggle with mental illness worsened in the days leading to his death at the hands of a Boston police officer, according to his family.
King Jr., 39, was shot and killed in a confrontation with police while trying to escape in a vehicle he allegedly stole on March 11. The officer who shot him, Nicholas O’Malley, said he feared King Jr. would run over the other responding officer, Todd Ho, with the car. O’Malley has been charged with manslaughter.
King Jr.’s three sisters, father, and his father’s fiancé, spoke publicly for the first time at the GRANT A.M.E Church in Roxbury, alongside attorney Ben Crump. They were joined by two city councilors and several leaders in the Black community…