Under a new policy, the Houston Police Department June 3 released body camera footage from a fatal police shooting that took place May 21. The policy requires the department to release footage from shootings, serious injuries and deaths in custody within 30 days of the event.
“Ideally you want people to be objective and see it from all sides,” Police Chief Troy Finner said. “Its always so tragic for everybody involved regardless of what happens.”
The videos, collected from four police officers, show officers shooting a man in his 20s, Zaekown Gullate, at the 9400 Block of Bissonnet Street on May 21. The officer had been conducting a traffic stop when Gullate walked across the street and approached them and said, “Just shoot me.” After repeated requests to withdraw his hands from his pockets, Gullate eventually pointed a gun at the officers and shot at least one time. Three of the officers fired back.
Finner said an investigation into the incident is ongoing, and both he and Mayor Sylvester Turner would not comment on the officers’ conduct. The four officers are currently on administrative leave, which includes pay, and is standard after “critical incidents” such as police shootings.
