LAPD Chief Charlie Beck reversed himself and released video footage Tuesday morning he says shows Carnell Snell, Jr. armed with a weapon. Snell was shot and killed Saturday in Los Angeles, touching off three nights of protests in the area of 108th Street and Western Avenue. Protestors there blocked the intersection while another group of protestors went to the mayor’s home and blocked the street there. Police said they attempted to stop a vehicle they thought might be stolen. According to police Snell, riding in the back seat of the vehicle, got out and ran through a shopping mall parking lot with a gun in his left hand. Police said Snell was chased by an officer to the residential area of 108th and Western behind a house where an officer stated Snell turned and pointed the gun at him. The officer fired, killing Snell. The video from the business in the shopping mall is available below the fold.
Like his counterparts in Charlotte, North Carolina, and El Cajon near San Diego, Beck released the footage to the public after saying it would not be done. Police officers routinely claim that their investigations of police shooting are “ongoing” and releasing evidence such as video footage may compromise that investigation. At the same time, press conferences called to brief media about police shootings offer up just enough information to exonerate the police … even though the investigation is ongoing.
Video of what happened when Carnell Snell, Jr. ran behind a South Central Los Angeles house is not available since the officer was not wearing a body camera. The video of Snell running in the parking lot shows a firearm in his left hand; he subsequently tucks the firearm into his sweatpants while appearing to duck behind a car. The video below is fairly good quality. You can view the original at the LA Times website here.