August 2, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PA GE 7
Cambria Heights teenager who was fatally shot
by police remembered with candlelight vigil
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Friends and family members
in Cambria Heights held a candlelight
vigil on Thursday, July 23,
in remembrance of 19-year-old
Matthew Felix, who was shot and
killed by a Long Island police officer
in southeast Queens in February.
The families were gathered at
the intersection of 217th Street
and Linden Boulevard to support
the Felix family as they said a
prayer and released 19 balloons —
one for every year Felix was alive
— while also raising awareness of
police gun violence and senseless
gun violence in communities.
It’s been five months since
Matthew’s death and his family
is calling on New York State Attorney
General Letitia James for
justice and demanding that Nassau
County police officers be held
accountable.
“I want the Nassau police commissioner
to know that I’m not
going to stand for the lies and the
coverups. My brother was unarmed,”
Felix’s sister said. “The
Nassau Police Department was
out of their jurisdiction; they did
not notify the NYPD that they
were here. All they’ve been doing
is playing a game of coverup.”
Felix was named an alleged
carjacking suspect while Nassau
County police officers were
trying to place him under arrest
outside of his Cambria Heights
home in February, according to
reports.
After meeting a person who
was selling a Mercedes on Jericho
Turnpike in Garden City Park,
Felix allegedly put a gun to the
victim’s head, stole the vehicle,
and drove it home.
Nassau’s Third Squad detectives
tracked Felix to his home,
surveilled the residence, and elite
Bureau of Special Operations officers
were tasked with taking
him into custody when the shooting
occurred.
“They gave him no chance
to come out of his car — without
warning, they shot up his vehicle,”
Felix’s sister said. “He was
dead on the scene, and they left
his lifeless body on the street as if
it were an animal or roadkill.”
Throughout the investigation,
the Felix family said they have
not received information as to
what actually occurred on that
fateful day between Felix and the
police officers.
The family is demanding
information on the names of
the Nassau County police officers
and their names, unedited
footage of the shooting,
and a thorough, transparent
investigation.
“We are still fighting for
justice not only for Matthew
— but for anyone who was ever
mistreated, racially profiled or
whose life ended shortly just
because of the color of their
skin. This is going to be a long
battle,” a family member said.
A mother who lost her son to
gun violence implored her neighbors
to stand up and make strides
to take back their community.
“Our pain deepens more
than the wounds that we lit. On
Aug. 8, I’m going to have to pull
myself together — because that
would be my son’s birthday —
just so I can live another moment
without him,” she said.
“We can’t afford to lose another
child, husband or friend.”
New York City Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams, who
announced his proposal for
curbing gun violence in the
five boroughs, said in order to
prevent such tragedies it’s important
to speak about accountability,
transparency and reframing
what is public safety.
Photo by Dean Moses
“I see people here who have
lost their loved ones to police
gun violence and families here
who have lost their loved ones
to civilian gun violence,” Williams
said. “These communities
are dealing with trauma on
every level and people have a
right to ask for better policing
and safer streets at the same
time.”
Additional reporting by Dean
Moses.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
Vol. 89 No. 31 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
/schnepsmedia.com
/QNS.COM
