Tragedy struck a Bay Area party last weekend when Santa Cruz rapper Almighty Aziz was fatally shot by local police after **** two people and a police dog.
According to The Mercury News, 24-year-old Aziz, whose real name is Aziz Howard Raqmond James, was attending a local gathering when police were called to the scene after he became paranoid and ****.
"Aziz was trippin'," longtime friend and fellow rapper, Eric "Ghambit" Munoz told the Mercury News. "I was like, 'Dog, what's happening bro? What's wrong?' And we tried to warn the cops: Don't send in the dogs. But that's what they did. It just got out of control."
Thomas Cussins, who works for Santa Cruz's Catalyst Nightclub, said Friday (April 4) Aziz hosted an event at Avalon Night Club in Santa Clara and afterwards Aziz and friends headed to a house on Crystal Drive for a gathering of around twelve people. Aziz called his older brother Howard at around 3 a.m.
"He was jokin' around, he seemed to be fine then," his brother Howard James III said, but shortly after, friends say he began acting paranoid and then lost complete control. Aziz allegedly **** a friend and jumped through a window, running out of the party. Aziz ran two houses down and entered another residence by breaking a window, police said. He allegedly **** another friend who came to calm him down.
Cussins, who also attended the party, says the **** victims were business associates in their twenties and that both have since been released from the hospital.
Aziz phoned his brother again at 3:52 a.m. saying there were "people out to **** him" but when Howard arrived around 5 a.m. police would not allow him to go inside and talk his brother down. At 6 a.m. Howard James said he saw two police dogs enter the home.
"I heard them breaking down the door," he said. "I heard dogs barking. Then I hear the gunshots. Six fast ones, then two more. Like firecrackers. I knew he was ****."
Aziz had no known criminal record in California, and his brother said he has no known history of mental illness. It's still undetermined whether Aziz took **** that night, but friends say he wasn't know for **** substances and was actually outspoken against hard ****.
"We went everywhere together," Howard James III, who is a Santa Cruz drug and alcohol counselor, said Tuesday. "My parents are devastated. He was their baby. I just don't think police did everything they could have. Why didn't they even try to talk to him, at least over a phone? He wanted their help."
Friends and family says they will lodge a formal protest and complaint against Santa Clara police for their handling of the situation.
As is standard procedure, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is investigating and Officers Scott Fitzgerald and Troy Johnsen have been placed on routine administrative leave following the ****.
"It would be inappropriate to discuss the tactics used, since this is still being investigated," Lt. Mike Sellers said. "But you need to look at the totality of the situation. He may be a nice guy, but my concern is what the officers were faced with."
Aziz has opened up for several rap acts including Talib Kweli, Canibus and Killah Priest, among others. He was part of the group the Warlordz and signd to Ineffable Records.
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