Los Angeles County father seeks answers in son’s death, shot by police

Oceanside, CA – A Los Angeles County man says he is seeking answers in his son’s Elwood Edwards death who was shot by an Oceanside deputy on May 20th.

Elwood Edwards police shooting

Elwood ‘Tim’ White said he was shocked by reports that his son Elwood Edwards had gone on a rock-throwing rampage before he died.

Police and at least one witness said Edwards was wielding a broomstick when he was shot.

No one involved in the incident has offered an explanation to Edwards’ behavior that day.

A Los Angeles County Sheriff Department official says the deputy acted in self-defense.

“We are turning over every stone, trying to find out what happened and how come it happened,” said Elwood “Tim” White. “We don’t feel that he had to be shot and killed. We are at a loss.”

White said he had spoken with his son on the phone just hours before the shooting, right after White and Edwards’ mother returned home from their daughter’s college graduation in Texas.

The father said his son was in Oceanside visiting a childhood friend on the morning of the shooting

NC Times reports, police and witnesses said Edwards had thrown rocks and punches at apparent strangers at a local gas station before police and deputies arrived on the scene and confronted Elwood Edwards a half-mile away near an Elementary school.

Edwards father said the reports of his son’s bizarre outburst run counter to what he knows of his son, who was one of nine children. White said Edwards had four older sisters and was his oldest son.

White said he has never known his son to drink or take drugs, nor did he have any indication that his son was suffering any sort of mental illness. Edwards’ autopsy results were not available as it generally takes weeks for toxicology test results to be returned.

“I know my son was a beautiful person who wouldn’t harm anyone,” White said.

So the question remains what really happened? Family friends who acted as mentors to Edwards, are asking the same question.

Edwards was a former high school track star who is described as a wonderful, kind, young man, and many are heartbroken over his death. He was recently working at a hospice and planned to attend a junior college before his untimely death.

“I don’t think that was necessary, but I don’t have all the facts,” White said. “We are a pro-police family. I’m just at a loss.”

A twitter page seeking justice for Elwood Edwards aka Elwood White has been created. @Justice4Elwood