Charlotte’s city attorney says CMPD has withheld almost nine minutes of officer body camera footage in the fatal shooting of Danquirs Franklin, 27, at a Burger King on Beatties Ford Road on March 25. City attorney Patrick Baker told the Charlotte Observer Wednesday night that city officials will conduct a review to determine why the full video has not been released and whether more footage can be released to the public.
On Monday, CMPD released about two-and-half minutes of the video to the public following a court order issued last week. Chief Kerr Putney has said other video would not be released because it would hurt an investigation into the shooting.
[Related Content: Body-Cam Video Shows Danquirs Franklin Was Not Pointing Gun At Officers When Shot]
The full video has been shown to city council members. Councilmember Braxton Winston told the Observer the unreleased footage shows Officer Wende Kerl’s initial reaction after shooting Franklin, as she explains to other officers why she fired her weapon.
Winston said he’s troubled by the full video because it doesn’t show officers administering aid to Franklin after he’s shot. He told the newspaper it’s not until around the 8-minute mark that paramedics appear and give Franklin medical attention.
Chief Putney held a public meeting Wednesday night at Little Rock AME Zion Church and at East Stonewall AME Zion Church Tuesday night. At both meetings, the main concern among audience members was the use of de-escalation and the accountability of officers in fatal shootings.
CMPD confirmed Wednesday neither Kerl nor the other officer in the video completed Crisis Intervention Training, which prepares officers to interact with people in crisis or with mental illness. Also Wednesday, activists called for charges to be filed against Kerl.
The department is conducting an internal investigation into the shooting. Once that is complete, evidence will then be turned over to the district attorney who will decide if Kerl will be charged.
