CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police have released bodycam video showing the moments a 10-year veteran Cleveland police officer shot and killed an armed 25-year-old man wanted on a murder warrant on East 134th Street on Thursday.
The video starts when the officer spots the man, later identified as Innes Lee Jr., running through the backyard of a home and attempting to jump a fence.
The shooting happens quickly, with the officer heard in the bodycam footage yelling at Lee to “stop" as he tried to jump a fence.
The officer points the gun at Lee and tells him not to reach in his pockets. The officer and Lee appear to struggle before the video shows what appears to be a gun in Lee’s hands.
The bodycam doesn’t show the officer shooting at Lee, but several gunshots can be heard.
After the shooting, the officer appears to be shaken up, directing other officers at the scene to get a first aid kit. The officer picked up a gun that was located on the ground near Lee.
According to police, Lee was wanted for a murder that happened at a gas station on Sept. 1 that resulted in a 48-year-old woman dead and a 26-year-old woman injured.
On Thursday, while speaking to reporters, Chief Calvin Williams said he didn't know if Lee had fired shots at the officer but did say he produced a weapon. The bodycam footage doesn't show Lee firing a shot at the officer.
Viewer warning: The bodycam footage shows the moments an officer fatally shoots a man. This video is graphic and may be hard to watch for some.
Williams said the officers involved in the shooting are doing okay and said he stood by the officer's actions.
"Of course with things going on around the country, the officers are definitely, ya know, kinda going through some things and wondering what’s going to happen, but I want to tell the Cleveland community, look at our incidents as the incident that happened in the city and the facts that surround those incidents themselves, and don’t conflate the things that are happening around the country with what happens here. I can say our officers did what they were supposed to do. They protected themselves and more importantly came out here to protect our community on a call from a citizen saying we are being terrorized by this person, can you please come and find this person," Williams said.
The name of the officer involved in the fatal shooting has not yet been released.
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