CPD releases body cam video of 2019 officer-involved shooting

Body camera video of an officer-involved shooting from 2019 between a Columbia police officer and Sir Brandon Legette was released during a press conference on June 26 by Legette's attorneys, as well as the Columbia Police Department later on Friday afternoon. Legette's attorney, Marc Brown, only shared a portion of the footage from the body camera of Officer Sean Rollins, saying that it showed Legette was not resisting arrest and that the shooting was not necessary. Hours later, the Columbia Police Department released the entire body camera footage, as well as the dash cam footage, from the beginning to the end of the incident. CPD also released its own statement, saying Brown's news conference was misleading. "Based on the facts of this case and given the current climate of our country, the narrative provided during that press conference was inaccurate, incomplete, and irresponsible," a spokeswoman for CPD said. On August 24, 2019, around 3 a.m., officers with CPD attempted to pull over Legette in the Food Lion parking lot on Broad River Road. Legette had just gotten off work from his second job at that grocery store. Officials say that after checking Legette's name and information, officers determined he was driving under suspension and had two warrants stemming from a robbery that took place on August 8. Legette says during his interaction with the officers, one of them, Rollins, jumped into his car and the car ended up traveling 150 yards across the parking lot where it ran down an embankment and came to a complete stop. Legette's lawyer showed a few still images claiming Rollins was completely inside the vehicle when it began to roll. Brown said Rollins' body camera fell off and was lying faceup on the floor of the car once the car hit the embankment. The video CPD released shows Rollins repeatedly asking Legette to exit his vehicle before trying to grab his arm and pull him out of the vehicle. At that point, the video shows Rollins partially in the car, before the car begins to move and Rollins begins screaming for Legette to stop the vehicle. CPD says Legette actually pulled Rollins into the car and took off across the parking lot "at a high rate of speed" with Rollins hanging partially outside the vehicle. In their statement, CPD says Legette purposefully drove down the embankment and crashed his car, causing the air bags to deploy. Once the car hit the embankment, Brown said Legette was laying facedown across the center console of his car with his arms above his head, and seconds later, Brown said Rollins hit Legette twice in the back of the head with his firearm and then shot him in the back of the head. "The airbags deployed, Brandon was compliant, the officer had complete control of his firearm, complete control of Brandon and the situation, but unfortunately he did not have complete control of himself. And he attempted to execute Brandon," Brown said. CPD says Legette and Rollins kept struggling after the crash and that's why Rollins fired his weapon.

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