The Silva family, whose 11-year old daughter Amethyst was killed by random gunfire during New Year's celebrations, hired attorney Mauricio Celis to investigate the circumstances of their daughters death.
The Silva's are challenging CCPD's claim that they had returned the Silva's 911 calls the morning of the accident. The family claimed they had called 911 twice but had received no answer, which prompted them to rush to the hospital.
They are also inquiring why Robert Silva, Amethyst's father, was detained by the police at the hospital, despite being told that he wasn't under arrest.
"I said (to the officer), 'OK, can I get across the building please?'" Robert Silva said. "He says no. He gets on his phone and he proceeds to drive me around the block on a joyride while my daughter is dying across the street.”
The Silva's also questioned why vital medical information was withheld from the family, as Amethyst's parents weren't told she had died until hours later.
"Anybody with some basic common sense and with some basic investigative skills would understand that if a child was just shot and the parents are in front of you, that you would at least ask some basic questions and ask what happened," Celis said during a press conference he hosted with the Silva family.
Celis is a civil attorney with Celis Law Group. He said he is scheduled to meet with district attorney Mark Gonzales next week.
After the incident, suspects Deonis Pointdexter and Jacob Leal were arrested and charged with deadly conduct by discharging a firearm, but were released on bond after their arrest.
CCPD has no further comments at this time.
