Newly released video shows Tyrin Johnson lying wounded on a Memphis sidewalk after a Tennessee National Guard member fatally shot him, while police officers call for an ambulance and soldiers keep their handguns trained on him. The footage does not show the shooting itself.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office released police body-camera, street-camera and bystander cellphone videos on November 2. Johnson, 20, was shot on July 5 and died at the scene. The district attorney’s office said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s review remained open.
In the body-camera footage, an officer requests an ambulance and asks the National Guard members whether they have a medical kit. At least six soldiers are visible at the scene. One begins cutting Johnson’s shirt near the end of the video.
The videos do not capture Johnson’s initial encounter with the guards or the fatal shot. Authorities have said he was armed and turned toward the soldiers with a gun. An autopsy report shared by Johnson’s family found that the bullet entered his back and exited through his chest, according to The Associated Press. The videos do not establish Johnson’s position at the moment he was shot.
André C. Wharton, an attorney for Johnson’s family, said investigators must determine what happened immediately before the shooting and assess whether the use of force was justified. He said the released footage does not show the full sequence of events.
Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has not decided whether to bring charges. An attorney for the two National Guard members said they had no comment. The soldiers were responding alongside Memphis police to reports of gunfire, according to authorities.
Reid Bentley