The family of a man who was fatally shot by Benbrook police and the family’s attorneys are demanding that law enforcement release video of the shooting.
Kenneth Brandon MacArthur Woods, 36, died on July 24 from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Attorneys Larry Taylor and Dimitri Dube say Woods’ mother, Bernadette Williams, and his fiancee, Keiyana Hamilton, are devastated, and having police body-camera video released to them would help them cope with their loss.
“Imagine, you know, Ms. Hamilton, she’s got two children and she’s pregnant with another child and he [Woods] will never get a chance to meet his child,” Taylor said. “Imagine somebody calling for help, asking for help, and the result being death.”
Woods was shot by officers who responded to a 911 call at an apartment in the 5600 block of Bellaire Drive South about 11:45 a.m. that day, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release.
According to DPS, which is leading the investigation of the shooting, Woods’ mother spoke to the 911 dispatcher and said she was inside the apartment with several young children and that Woods was refusing to allow them to leave. The family’s attorneys said Woods made the 911 call but his mother briefly talked to the dispatcher.
The DPS statement said that Woods fired multiple gunshots in the apartment and jumped from a second-floor window. Police said he was armed with a handgun and did not comply with officers’ commands to take his hands off the gun before officers shot him.
Williams and Hamilton did not know Woods to have a weapon and did not see a gun before the shooting happened, according to their attorneys.
Authorities have not specified how many officers fired their weapons.
Taylor and Dube say the release of the video will also assist the family’s understanding of the circumstances of the shooting.
“What led to the killing of their loved one when all he did was for help?” Dube said in an interview with the Star-Telegram.
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Hamilton and the family’s attorneys said Woods called 911 that morning for help, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
“His exact words that morning that he kept reiterating to his family was that he was not feeling like himself,” Dube told WFAA on Thursday.
Law enforcement has not been cooperative in allowing the family to see the video, their attorneys said.
“I mean, traditionally at this stage in this country, law enforcement usually brings or invites the family in to review the video so that they do understand what took place and what happened,” Taylor said. “It’s happened in Arlington, it’s happening in Dallas County, but for some reason that is not happening in Tarrant County.”
“The family wants to see exactly what took place and what led to the death of their loved one,” he added.
In addition to their request of the video, the family’s attorneys are asking law enforcement and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office to sit down and have a discussion with Hamilton and Williams.
“What we’re asking is not extraordinary… When these incidents happen, the best way for law enforcement to clear up any issues with the family and with the local community is to show the video and to ensure transparency in the process,” Dube said. “That’s how we hold the police accountable.”
The Texas Rangers, a division of DPS, are investigating the shooting at the request of the Benbrook Police Department.
According to a Benbrook police spokesperson, DPS will decide whether or not to release any of the recordings of the shooting.
In response to a Star-Telegram request, DPS said no further information will be released at this time, and at the investigation’s completion, the case will be submitted to the DA’s office.
Benbrook police say they are going to “stay consistent” with DPS’s decisions regarding the release of evidence.
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