Friends, Family Mourn Tulsa Man Shot By Police

Family and friends said goodbye today to Joshua Barre.

He's the Tulsa man who died in an officer-involved shooting earlier this month.

As his family lays their loved one to rest, they're also asking for justice.

Barre's family says deputies didn't fully take into account Barre's mental illness during the deadly confrontation.

Now, they're hoping to use his death to start a movement.

"He was a wonderful, wonderful, loving guy," says Ola Barre.

Ola Barre is laying her grandson to rest today.

"He never had a fight," she says. "He never had anything bad to say about anybody."

The 29-year-old was shot and killed by two Tulsa County sheriff's deputies and a Tulsa Police officer June 9.

"They should've done something different," says Ola Barre. "I'm not the police, I don't know how they operate, but I know how they operated that day. But they should've handled that differently."

Deputies say they were trying to stop Barre from entering a convenience store while holding two knives.

But Ola says deputies on the scene didn't know how to handle a mentally ill person.

"He was a sick boy and they knew he was sick," she says. "They should've handled that in a different way."

His grandfather, Leon Barre, says Joshua struggled with mental health since his dad died seven years ago.

"He was at the University of Las Vegas studying, you know," Leon Barre says. "And he just dropped out of school and went downhill from then on." 

The altercation he had didn't have to end with his grandson's death.

"Something needs to stop," Leon Barre says. "Everybody say pray, but I am tired of prayin'. I want to see some action."