A Feast family lawyer, Ben Crump, says the footage “depicts a defenseless man who has been shot in the back”.
Police in suburban Houston released footage from body cameras on Monday showing an officer fatally shot a black man in the back, although key moments of the nightly encounter were missing or covered.
The footage released by the La Marque Police Department includes no audio for the first 30 seconds, including the moment Officer Jose Santos shot and killed 22-year-old Joshua Feast.
It shows the feast in front of Santos, who has reached out his weapon, and the feast lying wounded on the ground, while Santos shouts three times: “Show me your hands”.
The video shows no muzzle flash from Santos’ pistol, but an independent autopsy released last week by Feast family attorney Ben Crump revealed that Feast died from a gunshot wound to the back.
“This footage shows one thing: a defenseless man was shot in the back when he did not obey a single legitimate order and posed no threat to the officer,” Crump said in a statement Monday.
In a press release, the police said the officers’ body cameras would buffer the first 30 seconds after switching on, resulting in a lack of audio.
The footage doesn’t show Feast holding a gun, although Santos can be heard on the police radio after the shooting that Feast dropped one on the ground. Police said they found two guns at the scene, without Santos’ service weapon.
“We know our community has questions,” Police Chief Kirk Jackson said in the press release.
“We will publish information as soon as we are able to maintain the integrity of the investigation and to comply with our legal obligations. We ask for your patience as the investigation unfolds. Our condolences, thoughts, and prayers go with all of Joshua Feast’s family and friends. “
Jackson previously said Feast was a person of interest in several recent shootings.
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