TLC’s T-Boz Says Police ‘Murdered’ Her Mentally Ill Cousin

Singer disputes account that her relative was armed during fatal shooting

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TLC singer T-Boz is taking the Peoria Police Department in Illinois to task over the shooting death of her cousin, calling the police account into question in a series of angry tweets that claim law enforcement “murdered” him.

According to the singer, whose real name is real name Tionne Watkins, her mentally ill cousin Eddie Russell Jr. was shot 18 times by police.

In a series of tweets, Watkins disputed reports that her cousin was armed during the fatal shooting last week.

“They say my cousin had a gun! Whatever he is holding isn’t a gun! And they used his Mother to bring him out telling her [s]ince he was mentally ill he’ll get the help he needs! He came out because he heard his mother and they murdered him,” Watkins wrote.

While the police account states that Russell approached police “aggressively,” Watkins said that her cousin did not have a history of violence.

“No matter what they SAY he did they shot him 18 times he NEVER had a violent record or harmed ANYONE! Not even the day he was shot,” the singer tweeted. “He didn’t hurt ANYONE NEVER HAS! They didn’t even wait for the negotiator to come and talk to him! No body cams?”

The singer also accused police of changing their story about the shooting.

“First they said he ran out shooting LIES then they changed it to walking aggressively towards police-BUT YALL TOLD HIM TO COME OUT,” Watkins tweeted. “I’ve watched this story change so many times right before my eyes! Jr. Was a sweet harmless young man with mental issues he couldn’t help.”

The singer further questioned how Russell could have ended up with the bullet in the back of his head if he was approaching police at the time of the shooting.

“Mmmm things like that we need to know WE ARE WAITING!!!!” the singer wrote.

A police spokeswoman has not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. However, according to a statement on the Peoria Police Department’s Facebook page, Russell was killed Sept. 20 “as he emerged from his home advancing towards officers with a handgun.”

According to police, the officers responded to a report of a bank robbery. Surveillance identified the suspect as Russell, who had run off from the scene of the reported robbery.

After police identified a possible address for Russell, officers “attempted to contact Russell for over 2 hours.

“At approximately 3:46 p.m. Russell emerged from his home and aggressively advanced toward [Special Response Team] officers with a handgun. Russell was shot. Emergency medical personnel were on scene and provided medical treatment. Russell was pronounced deceased at the scene,” police said.

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