(WXYZ) — The final minutes of 20-year-old Porter Burks' life played out on a Detroit Police body camera.
The initial 9-1-1 call was of concern coming from Burks' brother who was alarmed after the 20-year-old slashed his tires and went wondering.
"Is he just walking around with a knife," audio from the call reveals an officer asking.
Burks, who was getting treatment for schizophrenia, has a history of stabbing family members including his 7-year-old step-sister.
Once they located the 20-year-old, you can hear police try to calm Burks down for four minutes asking him to drop the 8.5 inch blade he was carrying.
"We're here to help you Porter, okay? We just want to help you. Your brother is worried about you. I'm worried about you," the officer says.
But despite the pleas of officers trained to handle situations surrounding people with mental health concerns, Porter moves toward the officers.
He moves too far away for the taser to take hold, but close enough to provoke five officers to shoot at him.
38 shots were fired. Burks was hit around 15 times.
"That's what mental illness people do. They make mistakes. They get treatment. We call the police supposedly for help, not to kill," Burks' family said.
During a Tuesday night press conference, Detroit Police Chief James White criticized the mental health system that has released Porter on multiple occasions.
"Our mental health crisis is real. Our mental health crisis in our city is real and this is not just a police matter, we're a response unit," he said.
Now the family has a message for anyone who will listen.
"Help them yourself. Don't call 911 they might not make it."
