Boxcutter-wielding trans man’s eerie last three words as he’s shot dead by cops
A transgender man’s terrifying last words have been revealed after he was shot dead by police when he allegedly approached them with a box cutter.
Santa Fe police told 33-year-old Grace Coon they were going to help him just seconds before shooting him dead.
“I believe you,” Coons said as he stepped forward and was killed by police after his wife called 911 to report that he was in a mental health crisis and armed with a box cutter.
The shooting occurred within a minute of police arriving at the home on September 22, as reported by police Santa Fe New Mexican.
The bodycam footage begins with Officers David Gallegos and Charles Ovalle at the front door with guns drawn, shouting, “Santa Fe Police – get out of the house now.”
Coon is then seen coming out of the front door with both hands raised, and each hand holding an object.
After Coon claims they have nothing on them, an officer responds, “You have a box cutter, drop it.”
The police then go back into the yard as they continue to instruct Coons to “drop the weapon.”
“I have nothing,” Coon says. ‘I don’t want to live.’
Gracen Coon is seen moments before police shot her dead in her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Coons, left, identified as a man, according to his attorney, who has reported plans to file a lawsuit after the September police shooting
The officers then tell Coon that they are going to help him.
“I believe you,” Coon answers, taking a step forward.
That’s when one of the officers – apparently Gallegos – fires three shots, causing Coon to collapse.
After the shooting, Coon’s wife Lilly Gordon opens the front door and asks police, “what just happened?”
The officers order her to go back inside and wait there.
Some time later, Coon’s wife is seen crying during a police interrogation in the couple’s garage.
Coon’s attorney, Brian Egolf, has filed legal notices with Santa Fe and the county reporting center.
Police documents refer to Coons as Stephanie and note that they identified themselves as a man but had not legally changed his name and gender.
Coon’s wife claims she called authorities for a welfare check and insisted he wasn’t dangerous. Coons, left, is pictured above with an unidentified person
New Mexico State Police told the Santa Fe New Mexican they plan to send the case to the state’s attorney’s office next week
Coon’s lawyer calls him a man, although a friend claimed he preferred gender-neutral pronouns.
Egolf says Coon’s wife called authorities for a welfare check and insisted he wasn’t dangerous.
“Upon SFPD’s arrival, no de-escalation tactics were employed against Mr. Coon before an SFPD officer fired his service weapon at Mr. Coon, killing him,” the release said.
‘Madam. Gordon was ordered to remain in her home and watch Mr. Coon, her husband, die before her.”
Santa Fe police, for their part, have said Coon was allegedly violent and armed with a box cutter. They also allege that Coon “threatened to kill the victim inside the home.”
After the shooting, Gallegos allegedly claimed to a commander that Coon was armed with “a box cutter and a gun.”
Ovalle, meanwhile, said Coon “had a knife in his hand, and I found out afterward that he also had a gun.”
New Mexico State Police told the Santa Fe New Mexican they plan to send the case to the district attorney’s office next week.
The Santa Fe Police Department, for its part, said an internal investigation would begin following the state’s investigation “to determine compliance with department policies and procedures.”