She said it didn’t matter whether it was raining, snowing or hot, her 15-year-old neighbor always wanted to get out in the fresh air to go on some adventure or another.

And if he wasn’t back by time the streetlights came on, his mom would be out looking for him and whoever else he was with, the 17-year-old girl said during a rally held Saturday. The event, sponsored by Black Lives Matter-Gary, included a march for Kemonte, who died Aug. 2, the day after a Gary police officer shot him once in the top of the head during a pursuit.

“He was always respectful, and we always stuck by each other,” Savannah told the 30 people who marched from 5th Avenue and Broadway down to 21st Century Charter School on Washington Street, where Kemonte was a student. The march ended at City Hall, where BLM-Gary organizer Kim McGee read a statement on behalf of the family demanding that authorities release any reports, audio and video connected to the shooting; that the officer who shot Kemonte give a public account of what happened, and that the City of Gary conduct an independent investigation of the incident.

Authorities have said that Kemonte was shot when he ran from police officers responding to an armed robbery at a cell phone store. They also have said he had a gun.

But Kemonte’s mother, Tasheena Brooks, said she taught her son to respect authority and to reach out to the police, whether he was in trouble or causing trouble. She said she also taught him to not hang around grown-ups.

“I tried to keep him away from the streets,” Brooks said. “I do not believe my son had a gun, and even if he did have one, he wouldn’t have pointed it at someone. He wasn’t a threat to those officers.”

But Brooks said that if Kemonte really did commit a crime, law enforcement shouldn’t have a problem releasing footage from the incident, if for no other reason than to exonerate the officer involved.

The Lake County prosecutor’s office determined that the Gary officer acted in defense of himself and fellow officers, records show.

Michael Miller, a Gary auxiliary police officer for 31 years, told the group as they gathered at the 5th Avenue Rally’s that people “need to have trust and love for one another.”

“I don’t stand for wrong. I don’t care,” Miller said.

A Gary police report that did not include an account from the officer who fired the fatal shot, as well as Griffith police reports and federal court records, offer the police account of what happened that evening.

Police and prosecutors said Cobbs and three others were involved in robbing the Cellular Connection cell phone store on Ridge Road in Munster. Police were called just after 5:45 p.m. Aug. 1 about an armed robbery at the wireless retailer.

A federal complaint filed against two adults in the case —21-year-olds Vondell Henry, Jr., and Deshalone Davis — said two people came in the store with guns drawn, and stole cellphones and cash. Authorities have said it was unclear whether Cobbs entered the store or stayed in the car.

Police pursued the group, who fled in a gray Nissan Versa that was reported stolen out of Ohio, to a parking lot off Hanley Street in Gary, police reports show. Henry, who was driving, surrendered as his passengers ran from the car, police said. Police caught Davis and a juvenile suspect “without incident,” the reports show.

Cobbs, however, was shot during a subsequent foot chase, authorities have said. According to a police report, Cobbs had a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine in his hand and was running from police when the Gary police officer shot him outside an abandoned residence at the Concord Commons Housing Complex.

Police said Cobbs “was lying on his stomach” and officers said they saw “a black semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine laying on the ground” under him, according to the reports.

Cobbs was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill., where he died Aug. 2. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.

The bullet entered an inch below the top of Cobbs’ head and lodged in his brain, according to his autopsy report. The bullet did not appear to be fired at close range, the report states. He also had abrasions on his right arm, according to the report.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department investigated the shooting but has not released its findings.

The officer, a 12-year veteran with the Gary police department, was placed on administrative leave after the incident, but has since returned to full duty, Gary Police spokesman Lt. Thomas Pawlak said.

Henry and Davis were charged with robbery and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, according to federal court records. Davis pleaded guilty to both counts earlier this month and is scheduled to be sentenced in May, court records show, while Henry was expected to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.

Charges are pending against a juvenile involved in the crime, according to the FBI.

Brooks’ attorney, Robert Montgomery, said they’re waiting to make a decision on any potential lawsuit until they’re able to gather more information.

The agencies have until Monday to turn over their documents or provide reasons why they cannot be released, Judge Stephen Scheele said at a January hearing. It was not immediately known whether the agencies have answered the judge’s request.

The Post-Tribune requested the video of the shooting in October, but the agency so far has not released it.

Post-Tribune reporter Becky Jacobs contributed.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.