Cellphone video showing Fresno police officers shooting an unarmed 19-year-old man lying on the ground at a gas station has sparked protests and prompted the FBI to launch an investigation.
The shooting, which occurred last month but generated debate this week after the video was made public, is the latest in a series of police use-of-force incidents caught on tape.
The witness video does not show the moments just before the fatal shooting. Two shots already had been fired at Noble before the recording began.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer told The Times on Thursday that Noble twice raised his shirt with his left hand and used his right hand to reach under his shirt into his waistband. The officers, he said, feared for their lives.
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The FBI and the U.S. attorney general’s office have agreed to investigate the shooting and will have access to all evidence, Dyer said. The chief said he didn’t want the public to think the police department isn’t “fair and objective” in its handling of the investigation and that FBI oversight would provide more transparency.