A New York police department released body camera video showing the moments before an officer shot a theft suspect, but experts disagree on whether the footage should have been made public so quickly.
News outlets were given clips July 3 from three New Rochelle police officers' body cameras – the same day that one of them seriously injured Jarrell Garris after he allegedly reached for one of their guns.
"The fact that it was released so promptly goes toward the notion that there's not something being hidden here. There's transparency," civil rights lawyer Mayo Bartlett told Fox News Digital. The move helps police build trust with the community, he added.
After receiving a 911 call that reported a man had stolen food from a local grocery store, officers Kari Bird, Gabrielle Chavarry and Detective Steven Conn confronted Garris, 37, on Lincoln Avenue near North Avenue in New Rochelle, about 25 miles north of New York City.
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The footage shows two female officers talking to Garris. "What were you doing in the store? You were eating the food?" one of the officers asked.
Conn was shown arriving and telling Garris he was under arrest. As Garris was placed in handcuffs, he was seen struggling. "Tase him. Tase him. Tase him ... He's got a gun!" Conn yells. Garris put his hand on one of the officer's belts, then the video cut out before the actual shooting.
Bartlett, who co-chaired Westchester's Police Reform Commission, said the clips show the officers' actions were in compliance with police protocol, but there may be room for improvement.
"By the book, it seems to be fine, but maybe we need to reevaluate how we approach people as well," he said, noting that Garris appeared to begin resisting the moment Conn announced he was under arrest.
However, retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone said there are downsides to releasing body camera footage so quickly.
"You have to do it when it helps the police and when it hurts the police," he said. "This case is cut-and-dried, but sometimes even things on camera are ambiguous."
If police delay releasing footage in a more nuanced case, the public might accuse them of a cover-up.
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"The court of public opinion is worse than any court. One of these incidents can set off a riot in a matter of seconds," he said.
Giacalone, an adjunct professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said he is a huge proponent of the NYPD using body-worn cameras but noted that the department rarely releases footage to the public.
"Police departments need to come up with a happy medium," he said.
Garris remains in critical condition at the Westchester Medical Center, authorities said.
The video did not persuade Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., that the police shooting was justified. He mistakenly released a statement Friday saying that Garris had died.
His office later retracted the statement after learning that Garris was still alive but had experienced brain death, the Daily Voice reported.
Bowman said that Garris suffers from schizophrenia and called the shooting "senseless."
"Police brutality has been sickening our country and taking the lives of our loved ones for decades," he added.
The shooting remains under investigation by the New York State Police and the New York State Attorney General's Office.
Mitch Picasso contributed to this report.
