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The Florida police on Monday released a "disturbing" video footage investigating the murder of a thief alleged by a shop owner, also a city commissioner in a suburb of Tampa.
Lakeland Police Department, Florida, broadcast a surveillance video of the October 3 shootings in the Vets Army Navy Surplus, showing Michael Dunn, shop owner and Lakeland City Commissioner, confronting Cristobal Lopez, who allegedly stole an ax of 16 dollars and then shot at Lopez while he was trying to flee.
"We have received numerous requests for comments, reports, surveillance videos and evidence regarding the Vets Army Navy Surplus shootings," Lakeland Police Chief Larry Giddens said in a statement. "Please, understand that there is a criminal investigation going on. We are working with the office of the public prosecutor and the office of the medical examiner, two agencies extremely to ensure that this investigation is conducted in the most transparent and professional manner possible, "
Lakeland Police Department
"For the time being, for the sake of transparency, although the criminal investigation is still active, the Lakeland Police Department has requested and obtained the approval of the Attorney General's Office for the broadcast of all videos showing the shooting on October 3. ", the statement said.
Dunn, 47, has not been charged.
"Until the investigation is over, it would be inappropriate to comment further," Giddens said in his statement, adding that the footage from the video "may be disturbing".
The images were made public the same day that Lopez 's family and friends held a funeral at the Wauchula morgue in Florida, and a funeral at the Zolfo Springs Friendship Cemetery.
The Lopez family could not be contacted for a comment on Monday. But Lopez's sister, Veronica Lopez, told The Tampa Bay Times last week that her brother did not deserve to die.
WFTS
"It was not a violent person," Veronica Lopez told the newspaper. "My brother did not have to be killed like an animal."
Police broadcast four videos of the incident from different angles inside the store.
The footage shows Lopez apparently removing a hatchet from a shelf and stuffing it into his belt. The same video also shows Dunn getting up from an office at the back of the store and heading to the counter to face Lopez.
Another video taken in front of the store shows Dunn trying to prevent Lopez from leaving and grabbing the man by his t-shirt while pointing a handgun at Lopez's chest. The sequence, which produces no sound, shows Dunn shooting with his weapon and Lopez collapsing, face down, right in front of the door, a hatchet falling near his right hand.
WFTS
In the video, we see Dunn hovering above Lopez, who seemed to move before his body was still. Dunn then comes out of the store and stands close to the body, but in the video, nothing indicates that he has offered medical assistance to the mortal wounded.
Lakeland police said Lopez was declared dead by paramedics shortly after his arrival.
"Lopez entered the store with his father," police said in a statement released on Oct. 4, in the aftermath of the shooting. "While his father was making a purchase, the shop owner, Michael Dunn, saw Lopez pick up and conceal a hatchet before trying to leave the store." Dunn stopped Lopez to ask him if he was going to pay for the article and the confrontation ensued.
"Dunn then used his weapon to hit Lopez who was still in possession of the hatchet," the statement said. "In addition to Lopez and Dunn's father, detectives interviewed two store employees working at the time."
Dunn's lawyer, Rusty Franklin, declined to comment on Monday the release of the video.
The lawyer would not say if Dunn's actions are justified under Florida's own law of self-defense, which allows people to resort to lethal force if they feel that their life or that another is in imminent danger.
"All legal defenses are being analyzed and will be prosecuted," Franklin told ABC News.
At a press conference last week, Mr. Franklin said that Mr. Dunn had been questioned for 45 minutes by the police on the day of the shooting.
"There was a shoplifting, he was told to pay and there was resistance," Franklin told the press conference. "Michael acknowledges that he did not put these things in motion, he acted responsibly and legally."
Franklin said that Lopez and his father had already made purchases in the store and that on the day of the shooting, the two men came to buy hats.
Attorney General Brian Haas said at a press conference last week that the investigation into the deadly murder would be thorough.
"It does not matter where Michael Dunn stands," said Haas. "My office will analyze the facts and respect the law."
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