Two Black Teenagers Killed In Police Shooting, Video Released Following Public Outrage

Florida police officials on Tuesday released a dashcam video footage of a shooting that happened last week involving two Black teens.

The fatal shooting happened Friday around 10:30 a.m. when deputies Jafet Santiago-Miranda and Carson Hendren of Brevard County were investigating a possible stolen vehicle case in the Cocoa neighborhood, reported New York Post. The teenagers have been identified as Sincere Pierce, 18, and Angelo Crooms, 16.

Following the incident, there was huge public outrage and protest, demanding answers from the authorities. The Brevard Police Sheriff Wayne Ivy has since then released a dashcam video from one of the patrol cars.

Cynthia Byrd-Green, a woman who raised Pierce, said on Tuesday that she believes that the shooting was the result of mistaken identity, reported Florida Today. She also said she was frustrated with the process and the lack of details surrounding the case.

The dashcam video shows two patrol vehicles following the teens' car and their automobile turning into a driveway of a nearby residence. Two deputies are seen exiting their cars and repeatedly asking them to “stop the vehicle.” The video also shows the teens' car trying to back out of the driveway as the deputy approaches.

The Sheriff said in a news release that the deputy officer was forced to fire his service weapon in an attempt to stop the car when the driver accelerated it towards them. He also pointed out that the video shows how the tires of the vehicle turn sharply as it accelerates toward the officer.

Ivy said that there was a third person inside the vehicle at the time of the incident. He said the third person has given additional evidence to the investigators that the occupants of the vehicle heard the verbal commands of the deputies to stop the car. The police also found two guns from the car but the officials refused to release further information on the ongoing investigation.

This was the fifth fatal police shooting to take place in Brevard County this year. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the case. Brevard County Sheriff’s office informed that the two deputies will be on paid administrative leave during the course of the investigation.

Hundreds of people gathered in protest along King Street in Cocoa on Wednesday night. The demonstrators of the rally called for justice in Croom and Pierce's deaths, and for greater transparency and accountability from the Sheriff's office, reported Florida Today. The grieving family members called for the release of more video footage.

“ Anybody could have been in that car, man. By the footage that we have seen, it was the wrong way to be put to death," Darius, a local hip hop artist, said during the protest.

Benjamin Crump, civil rights attorney who represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake said he will be representing the families of the two Black teens, reported ABC News.