St. Paul to release body cam video of Sunday police shooting
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter on Tuesday said the city intends to release police body camera video as soon as possible from a Sunday incident where officers shot and killed a man.
Carter said Chief Todd Axtell would release police body cam video and audio from the confrontation once the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension finished collecting statements from witnesses and officers, and after the family of the man killed had a chance to view the audio and video in private.
Among his reasons, Carter said he and Axtell wanted to release the footage as soon as possible to dispel "rumors" of what happened when 43-year-old William Hughes was shot in the early hours Sunday at a house in the Summit-University neighborhood as police responded to a 911 call of shots fired inside the house.
Axtell said later he expected to release the audio and video within the next 10 days.
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Carter emphasized that while he and Axtell were pressing for transparency, city officials would not do anything to compromise the investigation or any potential charging decisions by the county, and that it was important "that we give the BCA the time and space to do their work. We don't want to be in the way of that."
Carter told reporters he had not yet viewed the body cam footage.
The BCA said its preliminary investigation showed officers Matthew Jones and Vincent Adams entered an enclosed porch and knocked on an interior door. Hughes emerged from another door and officers shot him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say a gun was recovered.
Hughes family members have called for the release of video and audio of the shooting, transcripts of any 911 calls relating to the incident as well as changes to rules governing the use of force.
Axtell in a statement said he'd heard the "clarion calls for the release of the body worn camera video. I understand the requests, whether altruistic in nature or a desperate search for something, anything, that will help us all find the truth and make sense of what has occurred."