He added that he wanted to release the video last week, but the fatal shooting of five police officers during a Dallas protest last week gave him pause.
Advertisement
The police video has revealed the moment when the 19-year-old was told to get out the vehicle in Fresno on 25 June.
Dyer said some of the video will answer numerous questions out in the community, but it may raise other questions – particularly whether the last two rounds fired by officers were necessary.
Dyer said he had questions about the last two shots, as well, but that he had yet to form conclusions about whether those shots were fired in accordance with department policy and the law, or whether the officers – with Noble bleeding, face up on the ground, and facing away from officers – should have used non-lethal force at that point. Dyer stressed during the news conference that officers are trained to assess the situation after every shot, and that the officers involved would be asked about the threat that they perceived before each of the shots.
It was disclosed that an object in Noble’s hand, believed initially to be possibly a weapon, whilst on the ground, determined to be a 4-inch plastic container with malleable clay.
Peter Bibring, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, applauded Dyer’s decision to show the public the video from the body-worn camera. Video shows Noble putting his left hand out the window.
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.
One of the officers warns Noble that he will shoot if the man does not drop whatever he has in his hand and lie face-down on the ground.
“Quit reaching for what you’ve got”, one officer shouts. “I promise you, I’m going to make the right decision”.
The video, which Dryer characterized as “disturbing”, shows the 19-year-old repeatedly ignoring the officers’ orders. Rather, Dyer said the question was when the video will be released.
The shooting has sparked fierce protests, with critics of accusing “trigger-happy” police of taking the life of an unarmed young man.
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.
One Black Lives Matter supporter tweeted Friday that the movement “stands with Dylan Noble”, but her comment drew a mixed reaction, with some surmising that his death was so-called suicide by cop, the Post reports.
The officers were allegedly in the area after hearing reports of a man carrying a rifle in the street, but had pulled the teenager over for a traffic stop Chief Dyer referred to as “high risk”.
The attorney for Noble’s family said they disagree’s with the Chief’s assessment.
” ‘I also believe this video’s gonna raise questions in the minds of people just as those questions exist in my mind as well, ‘ ” says Dyer.
“The footage comes after cell phone footage was released last week”.
Advertisement
” ‘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.
