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Fort Worth, Texas – Fort Worth police on Thursday released a video footage of police officers killing a man who had ignored repeated police orders to drop his handgun.
JaQuavion Slaton, 20, died Sunday from multiple gunshot wounds to his head and chest, said Dr. Nizam Peerwani, Tarrant County Medical Officer, in a statement. A head injury was self-inflicted and the rest came from police bullets, and an investigation continues to determine whether the self-inflicted wound injury was intentional or accidental, Peerwani said.
Slaton was the fourth suspect on which the Fort Worth police shot in 10 days and the second who was killed.
In presenting the video, Acting Police Chief Ed Kraus said that three of the officers from the department's special intervention team had gone to the Fort address. Worth four times since May 6 to serve Slaton with warrants issued by Tyler police at the University of Texas, accusing him of crime. aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault of a family member and escape by arrest. Slaton could only be found the first three times, but he was found Sunday at a roadside check and the officers of the special intervention team went to the scene.
"They already knew that Slaton was under several arrest warrants and that they had learned in their previous meetings, they thought that he was currently armed with. a weapon, "Kraus told reporters and community activists.
They showed Kraus a video showing a foot chase showing an object in Slaton's hand that appeared to be a handgun. The pursuing officers are heard shouting "Gun! Gun! Gun!"
After briefly losing touch with Slaton, the police found him in the cab of a pickup truck.
The police first approached the truck from behind, but stood in front to protect nearby pedestrians from any shots, Kraus said. The video showed a semicircle of armored officers in front of the truck, arms unsheathed, amid cries of "Raise your hands!"
Finally, an officer shouted: "He reaches!" The officers opened fire. Even after a call from "Cease fire!" we hear an officer warn that Slaton still had a rifle in his hand.
Kraus said that Slaton's position in the vehicle and the position of the cameras on the officers' chest prevented the video from clearly capturing what they had seen, Kraus noted. "What is represented, however, is that Slaton does not bow to multiple requests to show his hands and that Slaton has openly carried out actions that have led the police to use their firearms." , did he declare.
Kraus said he hoped the publication of the video and information meeting would be "a first step" towards building public trust in the police.
Richard Vazquez, president of the neighborhood compound where Slaton was shot, said the video was a good start, but that it was necessary to publish more videos and statements of the officers involved.
"My community will only be satisfied when we know more," he told Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Estella Williams, president of the Fort Worth / Tarrant County NAACP Branch, also welcomed the initial release. But she told the Star-Telegram: "I hope that there will be changes.We know that there has been a lot of shootings over the last few weeks and we need to be aware of what's going on. ; information ".
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