Shaky video shows deputy shooting man during foot chase

Within seconds of jumping out of an Orange County Sheriff ’s Office vehicle, Deputy Bruce Stolk un-holstered his gun and shot at Edenilson Urbina in a darkened alley as the 18-year-old fled between apartment buildings, video released by the agency Tuesday showed.

The videos released by the Sheriff’s Office did not lend much clarity to what preceded Stolk’s decision to fire at Urbina, because the footage — recorded by the sprinting deputy’s body-worn camera — was shaky and the scene of the shooting was dark.

But the video did show how quickly Stolk reached for his gun while chasing Urbina, almost immediately firing a shot toward the man upon encountering him. There’s no sound in the video until seconds later, but a muzzle flash from the weapon shows when the gun was fired.

Stolk’s camera began recording sound after the shot was fired, about a minute into the video released Tuesday. That likely means the deputy hadn’t turned on the camera until after the shooting, because OCSO body cameras store video without sound for about a minute prior to being activated.

The Sheriff ’s Office said determining when Stolk activated his camera would be part of its investigation of the shooting.

The most clear footage was from after Stolk shot Urbina in the leg and then took a stationary

position, holding the young man at gunpoint until other deputies arrived. By the time the deputy shone his flashlight on Urbina, he was lying on his chest with his hands raised above his head.

According to the incident report released earlier this month, Urbina had been in line at a food truck in a gas station parking lot off Kingsgate Drive in Oak Ridge just before 7 p.m. Dec. 20 when an OCSO vehicle pulled in, planning to stop Urbina for minor traffic violations. But the deputies said when Urbina saw the vehicle, he took off running.

Stolk said he fired his weapon after Urbina began “reaching toward his waistband,” which is not visible in the footage.

The shooting is still under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Stolk’s body-worn camera video showed him drawing his gun about 15 seconds after jumping out of his vehicle. When the sound in the video turned on, another deputy was heard yelling at Urbina to show his hands.

“Get your hands out of your waistband,” Stolk yelled.

Then he turned on a light, showing Urbina on the ground with his hands up, lying between two buildings.

He repeatedly yelled in pain, “My leg!”

Though Urbina’s hands were clearly outstretched by that point, Stolk yelled again seconds later: “Do not put your hands in your waistband, get them out.”

As deputies approached to put Urbina in handcuffs, one delivered a blunt warning: “Listen to me — if you reach anywhere toward your waist, I will f—-ing smoke you, you got me?” “Yes, sir,” Urbina replied. Once Urbina was handcuffed, first responders tended to his leg, while Urbina yelled out in pain.

The video footage was released exactly thirty days after the shooting, under a new policy that that states the Sheriff ’s Office will publicly release such videos after a shooting by a deputy within a month.

Stolk and Deputy John Krauss had planned to stop Urbina for minor traffic violations: failing to wear proper eye protection on his motorcycle and a folded tag that was hard for law enforcement to read, the incident report said. But because they were patrolling in an unmarked vehicle, they requested a marked vehicle approach him in the parking lot.

When Urbina ran, the two deputies decided to chase him, citing the “high crime” area and Urbina’s “headlong flight,” which they said established justification for the pursuit under the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court case Illionis v. Wardlow. In that case, the court ruled that officers can stop and investigate someone who runs from law enforcement in an area known for crime.

Urbina ran behind the gas station, then an apartment complex, but as he cut between apartment buildings, Stolk shot him, hitting him in the leg, according to OCSO.

No other body camera captured the shooting, with Krauss behind a different building when he heard the shot, the report said. In Krauss’ video, he yells at Urbina to “stop running,” while chasing him. Officials have said they did not initially find any weapon on Urbina or at the scene, and no weapon is seen in the video.

Urbina was treated for the gunshot wound at a local hospital, but the extent of his injury is unclear. He was arrested on a charge of resisting an officer without violence and released without bond. Last week, he pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.