(Reuters) – The family of a Black man fatally shot by Houston police last month said on Thursday that an independent autopsy showed he had been shot while running away from police after a car he was riding in was involved in a chase with officers.
The family of Jalen Randle, 29, who was shot on April 27, are calling on Houston police to immediately release body cam footage of the incident.
“Results of our independent autopsy confirm Jalen was shot from behind, running away from the police,” said Ben Crump, the family’s attorney and a prominent U.S. civil rights figure, at a press conference.
The shooting was the latest in a string of police killings of Black men that critics say are unjustified, and it comes nearly two years after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited global protests against police brutality and bias in the U.S. criminal justice system.
Houston police said in an April 29 release that officers in their narcotics division were searching for Randle, who was wanted on three felony warrants. Officers saw him enter a car and they began a traffic stop. The driver sped off with Randle still in the car. Officers said a bag was in Randle’s possession that contained a gun.
Police said body camera footage of the shooting will be released within 30 days of the incident, as is their new policy. Police also pointed out there are three separate investigations into the shooting, including one being carried out by the Harris County district attorney’s office.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
