Bodycam Footage Shows California Police Shooting Black Man They Believed Had A Gun

Bodycam footage of the Aug. 15 shooting that left a Black man dead was released by the Pasadena Police Department, California on Thursday.

In a press release, the police department said that the officer-involved shooting took place after two cops stopped a car for a "vehicle code violation."

"During the stop, the driver cooperated with officers and admitted he was driving on a suspended license, however, the passenger in the vehicle elected to run away. While running, the passenger removed a handgun from his waistband and an officer-involved shooting occurred," the press release stated. The man was later identified as 32-year-old Anthony McClain, a father of three.

Caree Harper, an attorney representing McClain’s family, said the shiny object seen in the video was nothing but McClain’s belt buckle.

The bodycam video showed McClain admitting to driving without a driver’s license. However, when he is asked to step out of the car, he begins to sprint from the cops. He is then seen reaching out to a shiny object in the waistband, which the cops said they believed was a gun.

"The natural swinging movement of the individual’s arms while running revealed what both officers immediately recognized as a firearm in his left hand," the department said.

McClain then turned to look at the cops over his right shoulder following which the cop closest to McClain shot at him twice. Police said after this, he ran for "a considerable distance" before eventually falling on the ground. McClain, who sustained at least one gunshot wound, was given first aid at the scene before being transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to injuries.

McClain’s family was shown an edited 8-minute video, which also pieced together footage from a nearby surveillance camera, of the incident. The edited video and the raw footage were later released to the media and public.

"We saw an edited version, a heavily edited version of the video from Pasadena PD. It’s clearly the propaganda they want to forward in the media to you. The video that I saw stops just before the shot was fired, and the officer in my opinion did not need to shoot at all. And it’s arguable what, if anything, might have been on Mr. McClain at the time. You will not see a literal smoking gun," said attorney Harper said, Pasadena Star News reported.

“The video that they’re going to release to you saying it’s a weapon we’re going to assert it’s his MK belt buckle,” Harper added.

The police said they recovered a handgun, which was illegally assembled from parts of various other guns, along Raymond avenue after the shooting, the report added.

Investigation into the incident was ongoing.