DETROIT – A 20-year-old Detroit man was shot and killed by a federal agent who was serving a warrant with a team of Detroit police in 2015.
Detroit police Chief James Craig said Terrance Kellom was armed with a hammer, which prompted the use of deadly force. The family has always maintained that Kellom did not have a hammer.
New evidence may force prosecutors to reopen the case. The attorney representing Kellom's family insists the evidence proves the young man never wielded a hammer as originally detailed in police reports. The family is calling for the case to be reopened.
Kellom's father, Kevin Kellom, is still grieving the loss of his son and demanding justice. Kevin Kellom said he will never forget the day a fugitive team stormed into his home looking for his son, who was wanted for an alleged robbery.
"They said he had a hammer and that's why they had to execute him, but that never happened. If it never happened, there's a huge problem here and we're asking Worthy's office to fix it," the family's attorney Nabih Ayad said.
Ayad said new testimony from a Detroit police officer at the scene in 2015 backs the family's claim that Kellom never held a hammer.
"This was an entire coverup made up of state and federal police agencies to cover the entire ordeal," Ayad said.
Maria Miller, the assistant prosecuting attorney in Wayne County, released the following statement:
“The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing new information in the Terrance Kellom Case to determine if it would in any way affect our previous review and decision regarding the circumstances of Mr. Kellom’s death."