A black man was shot dead by police officers in his backyard in Florida, his relatives have claimed.
Gregory Frazier, 55, was reportedly using a small pocket knife to eat chicken wings when he was confronted by two officers from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening.
They had been called to the home, in Pampano Beach, by Frazier’s sister who has witnessed an argument between Frazier and her daughter.
The altercation had ended by the time police arrived, according to the Broward Palm Beach New Times, yet the officers still ordered him to get on the ground after seeing his knife.
Witnesses claim that Frazier told them to “leave me alone” before they repeated the order and then opened fire.
His nephew Quartaze Woodard claims he was shot and handcuffed. But, after realising he was unresponsive, the officers unsuccessfully attempted to perform CPR.
"I never would have called the cops if I'd known this was going to happen," said his sister Deborah. "They just came in and started shooting right away."
A spokeswoman for the Broward sheriff’s office said two unnamed deputies had been placed on administrative leave as an investigation is carried out.
She said: "When deputies arrived, someone in the house directed them to the backyard where they encountered the subject who produced a knife. Both deputies fired their weapons".
It is the latest in a long line of incidents involving alleged excessive police force against African Americans, which have sparked numerous across the U.S. protests under the Black Lives Matter banner.
