AP – Body camera video of the shooting was released late Thursday. Friday, the city’s mayor and police chief held a news conference.
In addition, the teen’s family and attorneys spoke to the media Friday.
Jazmir Tucker, 15, who was armed with a loaded firearm, was killed by police on Thanksgiving night.
Mayor Shammas Malik questioned why the officers first to respond didn’t activate their body cameras. There is also no audio for the first 30 seconds of the video.
Malik questioned the officer’s use of a rifle instead of a handgun, and why it took so long to offer help.
Investigators say the incident began to unfold at 11 p.m. on Nov. 28, when two police officers were working on a report inside their cruiser, heard gunfire on East Avenue and went to investigate.
According to a police statement, the officers then spotted Tucker and began to chase him on foot.
The audio on the officers’ body camera was not yet activated, but the body camera video showed one of the officers, a five-year veteran, firing his rifle and striking the teen. The video shows that after the teen was shot, the officers continued to perceive Tucker as a threat and told him numerous times to comply with their commands. The officers are heard shouting, “Stop moving, stop moving, put your hands out to your side.”
The officer who fired his rifle then revealed why he opened fire.
“He was reaching with his right hand. We need someone to check the parking lot behind us, that’s where he was shooting,” the officer said.
According to the attorney representing Tucker’s family, officers didn’t render aid to the dying teen for 10 minutes.
