In a press conference Wednesday morning, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said Martin was armed with a 9mm pistol, which he pointed directly at the officer. Saying his office was “trying to be as transparent as we can,” Belmar released a surveillance videofrom the gas station that appears to show the squad car pulling in, and Martin raising a weapon. The video cuts off before the officer fatally shoots Martin, a choice Belmar said was out of consideration for his family.
The mother of the young man, Toni Martin, told ABC News that her son had been with his girlfriend at the time, and said the girlfriend reported a different version of events: “Police started messing with him, and when he tried to get up and run, they started shooting at him.”
Belmar confirmed that the officer had been assigned a body camera that night, but had failed to put it on. The squad car was also equipped with a “dash cam,” which was also not turned on. Belmar said he didn’t know if this was a “conscious decision” or not, saying many officers are “not used to the technology.”
Police are now looking for at least two witnesses who were in the parking lot at the time of the shooting.
“Our hearts go out to the decedent’s family, but bad decisions were made,” Belmar added. “This individual could have complied, he could have ran away, he could have dropped the gun. It didn’t have to end with him approaching officers with a weapon.”
He went to compare the grief Martin’s family is experiencing with that of the officer, who has been placed on administrative leave. “This is a tragedy for the police officer as well, because he will carry it with him for the rest of his life. There are no winners here, only losers.”
As when 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in Ferguson this summer, protests erupted at the site of last night’s shooting and lasted until dawn. Police used pepper spray on some of the demonstrators, which Belmar said was in self defense.
“We had several bricks thrown at officers and two explosives used—some sort of amalgam of fireworks,” he told reporters. “Those are felonies. It’s very disturbing.”
Belmar said he tried to talk to “young people in the area” following the protests, and reported that they asked him “Why couldn’t the officer used tazers or pepper mace instead of a firearm?”
He responded, “Well, frankly it’s unreasonable. Most of us would feel like we’re in imminent danger in that situation. I understand the emotions. Let the emotions vent. But we don’t want to see our neighborhoods torn apart once again. This is a tragedy, but we need to move past this, and perhaps get it off the street.”
The case will now go to County Prosecutor Robert McColloch, who has been widely criticized for his handling of the Michael Brown case. Among other issues, McCollochallowed a witness he knew was lying to testify before the grand jury for two days.
Said Belmar of McColloch: “It will be up to him to figure out what he wants to do with the case.”
Original Article
Source: thinkprogress.org/
Author: ALICE OLLSTEIN
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