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Father seeks closure in officer-involved shooting death of India Kager

Posted at 3:44 PM, Mar 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-09 17:15:45-05

Virginia Beach, Va. - Almost six months after Virginia Beach police shot and killed his daughter, Richard Kager says he finally has some closure.

“I saw two gold police badges, and nobody wants to see a police badge at their door, at `dark-thirty` in the morning,” Kager told to NewsChannel 3 about the night he was told his daughter had been killed.

“The horror was only confirmed when they asked me if I was the father of India Kager. Right then and there, it is like the floor and the ceiling traded places. It was just horrible,” he said.

Listen to the extended phone interview in the player below.

App users, tap here if you don't see the audio player.

India Kager, 28, was caught in the crossfire at a 7-Eleven on September 5, 2015 while police tried to apprehend 35-year-old Angelo Perry. Perry was a passenger in India’s car.

Kager says his daughter was driving Perry back to Virginia Beach after visiting the newborn son India and Perry shared together.

“I was hoping that it was just an accident, and she was in the hospital, but no. They informed me that she was involved in a police shooting…At that point, it was like being on a tightrope, 50,000 feet up, with no safety net,” Kager told NewsChannel 3 during a phone interview on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Commonwealth's Attorney announced that four SWAT officers involved in India’s death would not be charged.

Click here to read the entire report released by the Commonwealth's Attorney

Police have previously said India’s death was an accident. Kager says that accident will follow him around the rest of his life.

“It wouldn`t make me feel better if someone suffers more. On the flip side though...if there are any holes or any doubts, or we have reason to believe that anything was compromised, then we will have to dig for the truth until it is satisfied.

Kager says he is reviewing the finding with his attorney, but does not believe in trading an “eye for an eye.”

Instead, he chooses to react as India might have, a daughter he describes as “harmless.”

“You would like her right away. She was not a pretentious or dishonest person,” said Kager.

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Virginia Beach Police on woman killed at 7-Eleven: ‘It was accidental. It was not intended’