A white police officer in Virginia shot an armed black man suspected of burglary as he ran away from the cop, newly released police body cam footage shows.
The footage shows Jeremy Durocher, a rookie cop in Portsmouth, shooting and wounding 18-year-old Deontrace Ward after police responded to a robbery call on Oct. 29.
“Hey, get on the ground!” Durocher shouts before firing two shots. “He has a gun! He has a gun!”
Durocher then watches Ward hop a fence and run into the yard of a nearby home, where he falls after Durocher fires two more shots.
The officer then yells “stay down” repeatedly and he and other responding officers converge on Ward., who claims he never pulled his gun and claims the new video proves he wasn’t a threat to Durocher.
“I was just pretty much trying to get away,” Ward told The Virginian-Pilot. “I feel he shot for no reason.”
The teen’s mother, Eboni West, saw the footage last week after prosecutors released the video to Ward’s attorney, according to the newspaper.
“It was heartbreaking to see my son shot while running away,” West said. “He didn’t deserve to get shot.”
Durocher’s attorney, meanwhile, claims the shooting was “absolutely justified,” without reservation,” citing Ward’s visible weapon as he exited a home where he stole jewelry, according to court documents.
“The suspect was armed, had burglarized a home and was clearly a danger and a threat in that regard,” attorney Nicholas Renninger told the Virginian-Pilot. “I have no qualms whatsoever in saying that my client’s actions in protecting himself and those around him were justified.”
Durocher was placed on administrative duty following the shooting. Portsmouth Police Chief Tonya Chapman declined to comment on the video, as well as Ward’s public defender, the Virginian-Pilot reports.
Ward, who still has a bullet lodged in his abdomen, is expected to appear in court May 1 to face six felony charges, including armed statutory burglary and assault of a police officer.
In a statement, Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales told the newspaper that her office is reviewing the shooting and will determine whether Durocher’s use of force was “justified or not pursuant” to the law.
