Videos released showing police slaying of man
EL CAJON, San Diego County — Video footage released Friday of the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in a San Diego suburb shows an officer fired four shots almost immediately after the man suddenly raised both hands and took what was described as a shooting stance.
The video was released after three nights of unruly and, at times, violent protests, and on the eve of a large demonstration called for by the man’s family, who had pressured authorities to show the full footage of the fatal encounter.
In addition to releasing the short cell phone video shot by a worker in a drive-thru window at a Mexican restaurant, authorities also released surveillance footage shot from a similar vantage point.
The surveillance video showed Officer Richard Gonsalves with his weapon drawn approaching Alfred Olango, who moves side to side and backs up toward a white pickup truck. The heads of both men are blurred in the video.
Police Chief Jeff Davis said the decision to release the video came out of a concern for public safety after demonstrations had become increasingly violent. On Thursday night a small group of protesters threw rocks, bottles and bricks at police, and one officer was stuck in the head.
Olango, 38, a Ugandan refugee who arrived in the U.S. as a boy, was fatally shot Tuesday by an El Cajon officer responding to dispatches about a mentally unstable man behaving erratically and walking in traffic.
Police said Olango had not obeyed an order to remove a hand from his pants pocket and was fatally shot after he quickly drew an object from the pocket and pointed it at an officer in a “shooting stance.” The object was an e-cigarette device.
In Pasadena, about 100 people marched through the streets to protest the death of a black man who died there after a struggle with police.
They began their peaceful march at the apartment building where Reginald Thomas was killed Friday morning and slowly made their way through the city’s crowded Old Town district on their way to the Police Department.
Authorities haven’t released Thomas’ name, but friends identified him.
Los Angeles County sheriff ’s officials say he was armed with a knife when he struggled with police officers, who used a Taser on him.
After he was handcuffed, police noticed Thomas wasn’t breathing. Officers and paramedics tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.