Bodycam video contradicts St. Louis police’s earlier account in fatal shooting of 17-year-old

Body camera video released Monday shows a St. Louis police officer fatally shooting a 17-year-old in the back of the head as he fled, contradicting an earlier police statement that the teen pointed a gun at officers.

Al Watkins, an attorney for the family of Emeshyon Wilkins, obtained the video as part of the discovery process in a federal lawsuit against the police department. Watkins said his office tried and failed to get the video through a records request.

“They fought that video issue for over a year,” Watkins told The Associated Press. “We had to file a federal lawsuit to get it. That’s not transparent. That’s not integrity. Indeed, it’s irresponsible.”

Wilkins was shot and killed in June 2024, just two weeks after he turned 17. He had no prior criminal history, Watkins said. Wilkins was Black.

Police said it all started when detectives attempted to stop an SUV that was reported stolen. Police said there was a brief pursuit; Watkins described it as a slow-speed chase. He said the SUV was only going around 10 mph.

The pursuit ended with Wilkins fleeing the vehicle on foot, with two officers in pursuit. One officer held a taser; another a firearm, the suit says.

The video shows the officer armed with a gun yelling at the teen to get on the ground as he raises the firearm. The officer can be heard telling the teen to drop a gun. The teen keeps running, and then the officer fires.

One of the four bullets struck the teen in the back of the head, killing him, the suit says. In the teen’s pocket was a firearm, but it was disassembled, in multiple pieces, and incapable of being fired, the suit says.

The video didn’t show the teen holding the firearm in his hand or pointing it at the officer.

“There was no threat to the public, and you look at the video, and there were no furtive movements,” Watkins said.

Police acknowledged Monday, following the release of the video, that “information provided by a third-party to investigators in the immediate aftermath of the incident was not consistent with the actual events or what was initially shared with the community.”

The department said it now sends a member of the department’s body-worn camera unit to such scenes so that footage can be reviewed by investigating commanders before detailed public accounts are provided.

“In this case, an earlier review of body-worn camera footage would have provided greater clarity than what was available in the initial moments following the incident,” the statement says.

St. Louis still bears the scars from the 2014 fatal shooting by a white police officer of 18-year-old Michael Brown — who was Black and unarmed — in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Some witnesses said Brown had his hands up in surrender. The Ferguson officer was cleared of wrongdoing and resigned, and Brown’s death led to months of protests.

Watkins said the public was assured change would happen. But now he said the police officer who killed Wilkins was placed on desk duty, with pay. He questioned why the process is taking so long.

“The family needs answers, and the only way answers can be given is if there is justice that is open and transparent,” Watkins said.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office said it received the police investigative report in October. But the statement says the office also completes its own “review of the evidence and law to determine whether there is a basis for criminal liability.”

“The CAO is committed to reviewing each matter as expeditiously as possible while ensuring that all available evidence and legal considerations are carefully and thoroughly evaluated,” the statement says.