Woman says Che Taylor attempted to ‘get his gun’ when he was shot
Mar 29, 2016, 7:09 AM | Updated: 7:18 am
A dash cam video shows a witness in a police car telling an officer that Taylor had a gun. (Seattle Police Department)
(Seattle Police Department)
Nearly a month after the fatal shooting of a black man by Seattle police officers, and criticism of the action, police have begun releasing video and audio from their investigation.
Related: NAACP calls fatal Seattle shooting of a black man an ‘execution’
Seattle police shot and killed Che Taylor, 46, in February, claiming that he pulled a gun on officers when they approached him. Video released of the shooting, however, cannot show that account and only shows police shooting the man as he drops from view behind a car.
“I couldn’t see past the seat, but he had a gun — I guess, supposedly — that’s why he got shot. He was trying to get his gun out of his pants — I don’t know,” said a woman who was in the back seat of the car at the time Taylor was shot.
Her statement was recorded on an audio file that was released March 28. Also released was audio of police chatter that day, and an interview with another witness.
A video clip from a police dash cam was also released, showing the same woman say that she thought Taylor had a gun.
The incident has drawn steep criticism from the area’s African-American community and has spurred protests in Seattle.
The police department said it is only releasing information that cannot harm its ongoing investigation into the shooting at this point.
