The Fresno, California, police department on Wednesday released body camera videos showing two officers fatally shooting an unarmed white man amid renewed scrutiny across the US over the use of force by police.
Dylan Noble was shot and killed on June 25 during a traffic stop by two unidentified police officers who thought the 19-year-old was armed, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told a news conference.
The release of the videos comes as police are under sharp scrutiny across the country over numerous high-profile police killings of unarmed black people, sparking widespread and sometimes destructive protests.
Dyer said the decision to release them was based on public concern over how police handled the incident, which has sparked protests.
“I am calling for calm in our community,” he said.
The video footage show Noble getting out of a pick-up truck during a traffic stop and then failing to comply with officers commands several times.
During the incident, Noble said that he “hated his life” and held his right hand behind his back.
Officers also saw Noble reach into his glove box and grasp something, Dyer said.
Noble repeatedly put his right hand behind his back and into his waistband as he walked toward and away from officers who had their weapons drawn toward him, the video showed.
One of the officers told investigators that “he thought Noble was either taunting him or was practicing pulling out a gun,” Dyer said, adding that it was later determined that Noble was unarmed.
An officer twice shot Noble, who fell to the ground. He then fired a third round at Noble as he was reaching again under his shirt and into his waistband.
A second officer shot Noble when he again reached into his waistband, the video showed.
“Some of this video will answer many of the questions that are out there in this community,” Dyer said. “However, I also believe this video is going to raise questions just as those questions exist in my mind as well.”
Dyer said questions remain as to whether the last two shots that were fired by police when Noble was lying on the ground were necessary.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese