Newly released surveillance video shows a police officer in Nashville, Tennessee, fatally shooting a man in the back as he ran away — leading to questions about the use of deadly force and calls for the police chief’s resignation.
The family of Daniel Hambrick, 25, held a news conference Wednesday after the video’s release to call attention to perceived racial bias in policing and demand that the officer involved be fired. Hambrick was black; the officer is white.
“I just want justice for my son,” said Hambrick’s mother, Vickie Hambrick, through tears. “That’s all I’m asking. And for all the young black guys and young women, I want justice for them.”
Image: Officer Andrew DelkeOfficer Andrew Delke, 25, who is assigned to the Juvenile Crime Task Force.Metro Nashville PD
The surveillance footage, which was released by the Nashville district attorney and obtained from a nearby school, shows Metro Nashville police Officer Andrew Delke, 25, chasing Hambrick on a sidewalk just after 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) on July 26.
Delke then stops and takes a shooting stance, and Hambrick falls to the ground. The officer then moves toward Hambrick with his weapon still drawn.
There is no audio with the video. Police said Delke fired his gun “several times.”
Hambrick died shortly after he was transported from the scene.
The local Fraternal Order of Police held their own news conference Wednesday to reiterate that the footage doesn’t show the complete picture. President James Smallwood said that Hambrick was armed at the time, as police have said, and that Delke had to make an “absolutely necessary and reasonable” decision to fire if he believed Hambrick was in a position to shoot him.
“It is our firm belief that Officer Delke acted reasonably under the totality of the circumstances,” Smallwood said.
On the night of the shooting, Metro Nashville police tweeted an image of the pistol that was recovered from the scene.
Police said officers had been looking for stolen vehicles when they spotted a car that was driving in an “erratic pattern.” The driver got away, but the same car was found later at an apartment complex, and as police approached, they said three people got out of the car. One of them was Hambrick.
Why the situation escalated into him being chased remains under investigation.
Nashville Mayor David Briley on Wednesday said he wants a “comprehensive review” of the shooting as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation examines the case.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/video-shows-nashville-man-running-away-he-s-fatally-shot-n899091