by Dave Waddell
Just 21 minutes elapsed between the time medical aid was first summoned to help Desmond Phillips and the moment when he was gunned down in a hail of Chico police bullets.
Authorities disclosed details this week about the shooting of Phillips, a 25-year-old mentally disturbed black man, who was killed by police in his father’s living room.
Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey told an April 3 meeting of the Human Relations Network of Butte County (HRN) that two young officers, fearing for their safety, fired 16 rounds at Phillips, hitting him 10 times. Phillips died shortly after being rushed to Enloe Medical Center, he said.