A Brooklyn mother is continuing to demand justice more than two decades after her 19-year-old son was shot and killed by an NYPD officer.

Carlos Lopez was 19 when he was shot and killed in Bed-Stuy on May 1, 2003.

His mother, Carolina Lopez, says she is still fighting to clear his name.

She points to physical evidence she questions and a notarized statement from the sister of the man her son was accused of killing as reasons prosecutors should take another look at the case.

“I can’t hug him. I can’t kiss him. I can’t say happy birthday. Why? Because NYPD killed my child and they keep on prolonging the case, prolonging the case. I have all the proof,” Carolina Lopez said on Saturday.

On what would have been Carlos Lopez’s 43rd birthday, family and friends gathered in East New York, chanting his name and calling on the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office to reopen the case.

Investigators believed Lopez opened fire and killed James Hodge. But his mother has always maintained her son was innocent and caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

One piece of evidence she questions is a black sweatshirt she believes was planted on her son. She says it was not his size and had no bullet holes, unlike the rest of his clothing.

“The hoodies is a 3X. My son was a large or extra large. That was a cap and gown on my son,” Lopez said.

A notarized letter addressed to prosecutors from Hodge’s sister states that her brother had no relationship or connection to Carlos Lopez. The letter also recounts what people told her about the shooting, including that the actual shooter fled the scene and has never been apprehended. She is asking prosecutors to conduct a thorough and fair investigation into her brother’s death.

Lopez’s family continues to insist he did not kill Hodge, remembering him as a 19-year-old who served as an altar boy in a Roman Catholic church.

“They know Carlos ain’t killed nobody. A 19-year-old young boy died for something that he didn’t do,” Lopez said.

More than two decades later, the family is still waiting for answers.

“I don’t know why this case is going on so long when they know that Carlos never killed their brother,” Lopez said.

News 12 reached out to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for an update on the case and whether there are any plans to reopen the investigation.

News 12 was unable to reach Hodge’s sister for comment Saturday night.