Fresno, California’s police chief says he hopes that the release of body-camera video of the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man doesn’t increase tensions.
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Noble led police to a Chevron gas station where he stopped his truck, with officers parked a few yards behind him.
As he approaches the officers, he can be heard saying, “I fucking hate my life”.
Witness video published by the Fresno Bee last week showed two shots were fired after Noble was already lying on the ground. At that time, Dyer said the second officer, who has not fired a shot, fired a shotgun blast at Noble. He was only carrying a small plastic container, The Los Angeles Times reports.
Reactions to the body camera footage were mixed.
He eventually stepped out of the truck, but kept one hand behind his back.
Demanding that the teen keep his hands up at all times, Noble does otherwise, while keeping his left arm up, and at another time turning his back towards officers as he walks away from police officers with his hands reaching towards his waist, it becomes apparent that Noble for reasons not necessarily understood refuses to abide as requested. The two police officers continue to yell for him to show his hands and get down on the ground.
In the last two weeks, the world watched as police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, La.; Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, Minn.; and Andrew Henson of Wagoner, Okla.
When asked if the final shots from the officers were necessary, the Fresno police chief couldn’t give an answer.
You can view the full video here, via The Washington Post, with the warning that it contains disturbing content. Dyer said he had the opportunity to meet with Noble’s family, and said he knows they are going through “an incredible amount of pain”. “He wanted to be a professional DJ, but mostly, he wanted to be a dad”, the newspaper reported.
That video only showed part of what happened, with the crucial seconds leading up to the first shots being fired not seen.
Noble’s death is a tragedy. Conservative news outlets and some of Noble’s friends have argued that if Noble had been black instead of white the case would have been more widely covered.
Noble’s death has sparked outrage in the community, as well as an impromptu protest in which mourners carried signs reading “White Lives Matter”, a reference to the “Black Lives Matter” movement against alleged police racism. The Guardian reports that people at that protest say they were misunderstood.
Police body cam video is now public, released by Fresno’s police chief Wednesday afternoon.
“I will make the right decision for this city, and the right decision for the officers involved”, Dyer said of the investigation.
Officers privately showed the video to Noble’s family last Friday but had initially refused to release the video to the public until the investigation was complete.
Dyer said the video was shown to the Noble family members on July 8, with their attorneys present.
“There has been a great deal of concern in the community and rightfully so”, says Dyer. Because of the volume of reader comments, we can not review individual moderation decisions with readers.
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A criminal and an internal affairs investigation is underway while Mr Noble’s mother has filed a wrongful-death claim against the department.
