Asked how officers shot a teenager in the back, St. Louis chief admits he hasn't taken statements

Today an autopsy confirmed the early eyewitness reports that St. Louis police officers shot teenager Mansur Ball-Bey in the back. Every person there who saw the shooting has said this for days and this was a huge reason immediate protests broke out after his death.

What I want you to notice, though, is something very troubling that was said in the press conference today. The police chief, Sam Dotson said:

"Just because he was shot in the back doesn't mean he was running away," Dotson said. "It could be, and I'm not saying that it doesn't mean that. I just don't know yet.

"What I do know is that two officers were involved and fired shots, but I don't know exactly where they were standing yet and I won't know until I get their statements."

In essence, what Chief Dotson just admitted was that days after the shooting death of a beloved teenager, his office still hadn't spoken to the officers who fired the shots. Now that the autopsy results are back, and are public, these officers have the chance to shape their statements around the evidence that is leaked.

Let's be clear, though: this process isn't accidental, it was built this way on purpose. In Cleveland, after police shot and killed Tamir Rice, the officers never gave official statements during the entire investigation. Nine months later, still no statements.

Police are given unending grace and latitude to use lethal force on their job and simply go not just days, but months on end, without even stating what happened. In the meantime, grieving families are virtually ignored and often treated like the enemy when they ask for even the most basic answers.