Newly released bodycam and surveillance footage shows National Guard members pointing their pistols at Tyrin Johnson as he lay on a Memphis sidewalk after being shot. The recordings do not show the initial encounter or the moment the fatal shots were fired.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office released the videos on Monday, along with footage from a fixed surveillance camera and a witness’s mobile phone. The incident took place on July 5 in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson, 20, died at the scene.
In one recording, National Guard members can be heard shouting “Hands!” and “Turn around!” as they point their weapons at Johnson. At least six guardsmen were present shortly after the shooting. One is seen moving a pistol on the ground before a police officer tells him to leave it where it is. The officer also requests an ambulance and asks the soldiers whether they have a medical kit.
Authorities said the soldiers and local police responded at about 4 a.m. to reports of gunfire and pursued an armed man who fled on foot. Investigators said Johnson was armed. An autopsy commissioned by his family concluded that he was shot in the back, contradicting accounts from police and the National Guard that he was facing the soldiers with a weapon when they opened fire.
The guardsmen were part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump the previous year. Trump had sent soldiers and federal officers to several Democratic-led cities that he described as overwhelmed by crime.
The district attorney has not decided whether to file charges in connection with Johnson’s death. The family’s lawyer said the investigation should focus on the moment the soldier fired the fatal shot and whether the action was justified. The newly released recordings do not capture that moment.
Sources: Der Spiegel.