After getting public criticism, Police Chief Jerry Dyer released body cam footage of the incident, and it has stroked more outrage.
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Dyer argues the video should be able to answer questions that people might have in mind.
“I f–g hate my life”, Noble said as he walked toward the two officers with his left hand raised and his right hand behind his back. One officer is heard asking Noble multiple times to show his hands, and after he exits the vehicle, he is seen approaching officers, then retreating.
Between the police department’s admission that Noble was unarmed and the new footage of officers continuing to fire, even after he had fallen to the ground, have renewed questions about whether the police were justified in using deadly force against Noble.
The graphic video, that comes after a string of shootings in the United States, shows officers pulling over the teenager at a petrol station. His mother, who declined to watch the videos, is seeking damages from the city for her son’s death.
Then, about 15 seconds later, he’s shot a fourth time from a second officer – this time from a shotgun.
Chief Dyer, who had earlier called the shooting a “tragedy”, acknowledged the video was gruesome, but said it was important for the public to be able to see it, the Associated Press reports. Dyer also told a reporter that they would investigate the possibility that Noble was reaching for his wounds, not his waistband, prior to being shot the last two times.
The shooting has sparked fierce protests, with critics of accusing “trigger-happy” police of taking the life of an unarmed young man. “I, too, have questions about the last two rounds fired”, he said, according to the Bee.
As Noble moves forward, one officer fires at him twice. Dyer said, pointing to the video, that Noble reached underneath his shirt, with his right hand, into the waistband. “The officers never gave Dylan an explanation or a chance to speak”.
Noble’s parents and their attorney reacted skeptically – and angrily – after the video was released.
Two shots are fired after the teenager disobeys commands to get on the ground and stop walking toward the officers.
Fresno police, however, hope the video can also bring clarity to officers’ decision to shoot. That’s where Noble stopped his pickup after officers turned on their lights and siren to pull him over.
“Show me your hands!” the officers said to Noble.
Reactions to the body camera footage were mixed.
After watching the footage, Noble’s family launched legal action against the city alleging that the shooting was “an inexcusable use of excessive force”.
Dyer, who has asked the FBI do its own investigation into the shooting, said he has yet to conclude if officers used excessive force.
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“What do you have in your hand?” an officer barked at Noble. Angered by the deaths, a lone gunman shot five officers in Dallas, Thursday, after an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest. Dyer says he chose to release the body camera footage before an investigation was complete because of community concern.
