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William Palmer, Slain Saturday, Was Active In Church, Not In A Gang: Family

By Evan F. Moore | June 8, 2016 5:42am
 Rosemary Palmer,  pastor of Lion & The Lamb Ministries, calls the labeling of her son William (first row, far left in photo she is holding) as a
Rosemary Palmer, pastor of Lion & The Lamb Ministries, calls the labeling of her son William (first row, far left in photo she is holding) as a "documented gang member" by the police as "offensive."
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DNAinfo/Evan F. Moore

WEST ENGLEWOOD — The family members of an Englewood man slain over the weekend said that he was an active churchgoer who was not a "documented gang member," as police said after his death.

At 5:20 a.m. Saturday, Palmer, 32, of the 6300 block of South Honore Street in West Englewood, was in a parked car on his block when a man walked up and shot him in the head,said Officer Bari Lemmon, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.

Palmer was pronounced dead at the scene, Lemmon said.

Family members of William Palmer said he had attended the birthday party of a friend and was asleep in his friend's car when he was killed.

Shakela Gayden, Palmer's sister, said that calling her brother a gang member was disrespectful to him and her family. 

 The family of William Palmer believes he was labeled due to his race and the location of his murder.
The family of William Palmer believes he was labeled due to his race and the location of his murder.
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"It isn't true. He's been stereotyped. He didn't think like that. He didn't speak it. He's a father and an active church member," Gayden said. "He was someone to look up to, family-orientated."

Palmer's mother, Rosemary, a pastor at Lion & The Lamb Ministries, also said her son was mislabeled.

"To say he was an alleged gang member defames his character. Is this because he's black and he was killed in Englewood?" Palmer said. "If he lived in another community, he'd be just a victim. Labeling him as a gang member is justification for them to say that is how he lost his life."

Police declined to comment on the family's claims, but stood by their earlier statements on the killing.

Family members described him as someone Lion & The Lamb church members looked up to. They said that Palmer, who worked at the church at 7052 S. Western Ave., was considered a mentor to many of the young people in the congregation. 

Paula Palmer, his aunt, identified her nephew's body at the morgue.

"He was a compassionate man who loved his children. He loved his family dearly," Palmer said. "We already have wounds from his death, and now they poured salt on it. That's not fair. That's not right."

Family members admitted that he'd served time in prison, but they said he had changed. And they feared police wouldn't investigate the case as thoroughly after labeling him a gang member.

"Calling William a gang member absolves the Chicago Police of finding the killers. We're sick of our young men being shot in our communities and being labeled as gang members," Natalie Davis, William's cousin, said. "Do not drop the ball on this. Our tax dollars pay for their jobs."

Family members said they were treated insensitively by police after the slaying and the root of the strained relationship between police and the black community comes from negative experiences like the one they had after Palmer's slaying.

No one is in custody for the shooting, police said. 

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