A tragic story of police ineptitude in N.O.

A police statement released after The Associated Press asked about the shooting said that, moments after Mitchell and his partner heard what appeared to be a gunshot, a man jumped onto the hood of their patrol car swinging something shiny. It was attempted murder of a police officer, a four-paragraph news release said.

That wasn't what happened, say Brumfield's daughter, Shantan Brumfield, and his niece Africa Brumfield, both of whom were there and both of whom were interviewed by phone by the AP.

They say the officer who shot Brumfield had hit him twice with a squad car before doing so -- a nudge the first time, and a heavier bump the second. That was when he leaped onto the hood and was shot, they said. Afterward, they said, the car ran over him, and other officers didn't come to investigate for several hours.