A federal judge unsealed video of a 2013 suburban Los Angeles police shooting, releasing it Tuesday at the request of The Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg.
The video shows Gardena officers fatally shooting one unarmed man and wounding another. The incident resulted in a $4.7 million legal settlement by the city, according to the Los Angeles Times.
(Scroll down to the watch the video; please note the warning that it is disturbing.)
Footage shot from three police-car cameras shows the killing of Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino, who was stopped with two other friends by police investigating a bicycle theft early the morning of June 2, 2013.
The stolen bike belonged to Zeferino's brother and he was trying to find it, but he was shot when he didn't obey officers' commands to stand still with his hands in the air, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney in a report outlining why officers weren't charged.
In the videos, Diaz-Zeferino, who was drunk at the time, first followed police orders to raise his hands, but then lowered them three times. The final time, he removed his ball cap, lowered his arms and reached out with his palms up. That's when police opened fire.
Witnesses said Diaz-Zeferino was trying to tell officers that they stopped the wrong men.
Camera footage shot from the side where the three officers opened fire shows his right hand go out of view at his waist when they began shooting. Officers said they feared he was reaching for a weapon.
Diaz-Zeferino was shot eight times, and Eutiquio Acevedo Mendez was shot once. They fell to the street.
Two minutes later, police handcuffed a bloody and limp Diaz-Zeferino. Nine minutes after he was shot, paramedics arrived.
An autopsy found methamphetamine in Diaz-Zeferino's system.
The video may be disturbing to some viewers.
Lawyers for Diaz-Zeferino said the investigation into the shooting was tainted because officers were able to review the videos before giving statements, a courtesy not offered to a member of the public involved in a shooting.
Attorney Samuel Paz said they may ask federal prosecutors to investigate whether the shooting was a civil rights violation.
"I think it is really helpful for the public to understand why they would be willing to pay $4.7 million to settle the case when we were on the eve of trial," Paz said. "When the public sees the video and other law enforcement agencies see the video, this is very much a criminal act."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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