Man fatally shot by Camden policehad BB gun

Oscar Camacho Sr. points to the bullet holes in the tan siding of an East Camden home. He is standing a few feet from a collection of empty Corona bottles, a blue T-shirt that reads "Super Dad," and a picture of his son - who was the father of three young boys - on the sidewalk corner.

"Bang," Camacho says, motioning toward one hole. He points toward at least four others, repeating it. "Bang, bang, bang."

This is where his 33-year-old son, Oscar Jr., was fatally shot by two Camden County police officers July 3. Authorities said Camacho Jr. aimed a weapon at them and was suicidal. Members of his family, speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting, say he had a defunct BB gun. They question why police had to open fire.

"He needed help, somebody to help him," Camacho Sr., 55, said. "Not to kill him."

Just after the shooting, a Camden County spokesman said in a news release that the suspect had a "loaded firearm."

This week, however, a police source not involved in the investigation but familiar with it confirmed that the weapon was a BB gun, as Camacho's family claimed. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity.

County spokesman Dan Keashan acknowledged Friday that the gun, which initially was perceived to be a revolver, was a BB gun.

Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson said Friday that he could not comment on the investigation.

But, he said, "my heart goes out to the family of Oscar Camacho; they remain in my prayers. Regardless of everything else that occurred the night of the incident, they are experiencing the immeasurable pain of losing a loved one."

It was the first fatal police shooting since the county force began patrolling Camden two years ago.

Camden County Prosecutor Mary E. Colalillo, whose office is investigating, said in a statement that "it would be inappropriate to comment before an investigation is complete."

The shooting, which happened around 11:20 p.m. along Bergen Avenue, sent the neighborhood into a frenzy. A neighbor ran down the street barefoot, tearfully yelling her grandson's name - she thought he was the man lying on the pavement. Another neighbor said he yelled at the officers, asking why they had killed him.

Police said Camacho Jr. had threatened, in a 911 call made prior to the shooting, to "come out at the cops." He had crashed his Honda Civic into parked cars before officers approached him outside the home at Bergen and Harrison Avenue, where family members said his cousin lives.

Camacho had three sons, ages 10, 8, and 7. He worked 40-hour weeks at a Cherry Hill landscaping company, where he installed sprinkler systems.

Family members say his paychecks went toward activities for the children - McDonald's, haircuts - and that the boys looked up to him, particularly the oldest. William Camacho, 31, Camacho Jr.'s brother, said he, too, turned to him for guidance last year during a tough breakup.

But recently, Camacho Jr. had been upset. Family members say he had received hurtful text messages from his former girlfriend's new partner.

The day of the shooting, he said he wanted the man to leave him alone, William Camacho said. " 'I'm getting frustrated,' " William Camacho said his brother told him.

That night, Oscar Camacho Jr. drank. After hitting the parked cars with his vehicle, he called 911.

"I'm done with my life," he told the dispatcher, according to a recording of the call.

"Sir, you have so much to live for," the dispatcher told him. "Don't say that."

Camacho mentioned his three boys and said he didn't want to get locked up. Three minutes into the call, he stopped talking.

Family members said Camacho parked his car near his cousin's home and knocked on the front door.

"I'm done. I love y'all," Camacho Jr. told a family member who answered, according to William Camacho, who said he heard the conversation from nearby.

Soon, police found Oscar Camacho Jr.

Pete Hernandez, 59, a neighbor who said he was sitting on his stoop, said one of the officers told Camacho, "Yo, come here, I want to talk to you."

Police said Camacho approached the officers and pointed a weapon.

Sgt. Keith Henderson, a 10-year veteran, and Officer James DiMarco, who had been on the job for four weeks, opened fire.

After the first shots, Hernandez said, Camacho's hands flew up and he dropped what he was holding. Hernandez said he thought it was a beer bottle.

It's unknown how many times police fired or how many times Camacho was struck, but a visit to the site of the shooting revealed at least five bullet holes in the siding.

William Camacho said one of the bullets grazed his right leg.

After the gunfire stopped, Hernandez said, he yelled at the officers.

Sarina Polo, whose grandson had left earlier that night to buy cigarettes, said she ran toward the corner and saw a man facedown. Polo, fearing the victim was her grandson, begged the officers to show his face. "Don't tell me that's my Danny!" she said she yelled.

As it turned out, Danny was OK.

But Thursday afternoon, as Camacho's friends gathered around the memorial of his picture and the beer bottles, Polo questioned the officers' actions.

"It's not right what happened," Polo, 54, said. "If they were going to shoot him, why didn't they shoot him in the hand or in the foot?"

Camacho's family wonders the same thing.

"Those two cops shot him too many times," Oscar Sr. said Wednesday. The next day, standing at the memorial for his son on the sidewalk, he stared quietly.

"I want justice," he said. "That's what I want for my son. I want these cops to pay for what they did."

His son's funeral was Friday.

The officers have been placed on administrative duty, which is standard procedure in a police-involved shooting. Joseph McGrath, another officer who was at the scene but did not fire, also is on administrative duty.