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Family of man shot by police speaks out

Family, friends, and neighbors are calling for an independent investigation into Christian Hall's death.

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Fe and Gareth Hall say Thanksgiving this year felt like a chore.

It was the first one without their son Christian, who would have been 20 years old.

He was shot and killed by Pennsylvania State Police on the Interstate 80 overpass near Stroudsburg in December of 2020.

RELATED: Investigation underway after officer-involved shooting in Monroe County

"It is so difficult to wake up each day. To get out of our room and look down the hall, and his room is always dark. The house is always quiet," said Fe Hall, Christian's mother.

The Hall parents stood outside in the cold for more than an hour in Dansbury Park with neighbors, family, and friends - calling for an independent investigation into their son's death.

"We're not doing this for us anymore. We're doing this for the community, we're doing this for other families, because I've said it, and I will say it again, no one should lose their lives at the hands of those who are supposed to protect and to save," said Fe. 

This comes after the family released an unredacted, unblurred video to Spotlight PA and NBC News showing the final moments leading up to the shooting. 

WNEP has not obtained this video.

"I saw the video with my son's hands up. I saw him double over," said Gareth Hall, Christian's father.

The Halls' family attorney says law enforcement not releasing the full video constituted a cover-up.

Monroe County Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso says it was done to spare the family and the public from seeing the disturbing footage.

The DA's office concluded the shooting was justified in March - calling it a 'suicide by cop' scenario. 

RELATED: DA: Shooting of man on Interstate 80 overpass justified

Investigators say Hall was armed, did not drop his weapon when asked to do so, and advanced towards troopers before he was shot. They later learned he was holding an airsoft pellet gun. 

The Hall family says the video showed Christian with his hands in the air when troopers fired. 

His father also says he suffered from auditory processing disorder.

"Those troopers were yelling out all kinds of demands at him. So, the fact that he didn't drop it that may have been the one thing that didn't process for him at the time," said Gareth.

The Hall family has contacted the Department of Justice and plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit next month. 

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