The sheriff's department in Broward County, Fla. has released body camera footage capturing a violent encounter between two deputies and a suspect, who was killed during the altercation.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Friday afternoon he released the footage to defend the actions of Deputies Sean Youngward, 48, and Steven Briggs, 49, who had been accused on social media of unjustly killing Jean Pedro Pierre, 42, based on a cell phone video shot by a witness at the Sunset Hills condominium in Lauderdale Lakes.
“There is information on social media that is just untrue and are actual lies,” Israel said.
“What you see on [the] video is not the end all, but what you see on [the] video is indisputable,” Israel said. “The public cannot say that this person was executed. ... And I think it’s critically important to the Broward County citizen to see what actually happened so that rumor, innuendo, and violence will not start.”
The shooting of Pierre was caught on the apartment complex's security cameras, the deputies' body cameras, and by a witness filming from a window several stories up.
After responding to a domestic disturbance call, deputy Youngward was aggressively approached by Pierre at the entrance to his apartment. After repeatedly telling the suspect to stay back as the suspect chased him down the hallway, Youngward fired his taser to seemingly no effect.
At one point Youngward tripped and fell onto his back, leaving Pierre an opening to grab his leg. Despite repeated orders from the deputy to release his leg, Pierre held on and began kicking Youngward. It was around this time that deputy Steven Briggs arrived.
You can see what happens next in the footage up top.
Source: sun-sentinel.com
