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The Orange County Sheriff's Department has released footage of an August 6 police shooting outside the Heritage hotel in Orange County, Florida.
The New York Post reported that a Florida deputy arrived on the scene after receiving reports that Dylan Jimenez, 21, and an unknown suspect had fired on each other. The unknown suspect was injured, while Jimenez later died from gunshot wounds in hospital.
Trigger warning: The video contains graphic violence Viewer discretion is advised.
At the scene, bystanders told the Florida deputy that Jimenez's brother, Bryan Matthew Richardson, was also armed with a gun. In the footage, the officer can be seen telling Richardson to drop the weapon. Richardson seems to hand the weapon to another cop, but he is then shot by the officer recording the footage.
Details of the Florida shooting
In the bodycam footage, the officer can be seen approaching the dying Jimenez before he makes conversation with a man tending to the victim.
The man can be heard describing Jimenez's wound:
“I'm a paramedic. He's got a (bullet) hole just right above his right nipple.”
As the officer helps the man tend to Jimenez, providing instructions, other members of the public can be heard warning him of Richardson, who was carrying a firearm.
A member of the public can be heard shouting:
“He (Richardson) has a gun in his hand pointed at people.”
In the footage, Richardson can be seen raising an empty hand at the officer and other civilians, seemingly trying to communicate with them. He shouts for the officer to stop. In return, the officer tells him to drop the weapon. As Richardson hands over the weapon to a female cop, the sheriff recording the footage fires 8 shots, killing him.
In an official statement, Orange County Sheriff John Mina summed up the incident. He said:
“Deputies directed that man – later identified as Bryan Richardson – to drop the gun.”
He continued:
“When he did not comply, one deputy fired his weapon.”
However, Mark NeJame, an attorney representing Jimenez and Richardson's family, has claimed that Richardson was armed to protect the officer from the unidentified third suspect.
NeJame said:
“(The unidentified third suspect was a) known menace and danger.”
He noted that the release of the bodycam footage was the right thing to do. He said:
“We are thankful for the orange County Sheriff’s transparency in releasing the body camera footage to the public...We respect that further camera footage from the first deputy on scene cannot yet be released as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has the matter under investigation.”
Fox reported that the officer has been placed on administrative leave. The shooting is currently under investigation by Florida authorities.
