Police released graphic video Friday that shows an officer fatally shooting a 21-year-old man in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The shooting happened Jan. 17 when Officer Chansey McMillin tried to search Terence Walker, 21, outside a church, according to KOTV. Police had been called to the scene due to reports of a disturbance between Walker and a woman identified as either his girlfriend or ex-girlfriend. Pastor Andre Jones made the 911 call, and told police "he's here with a gun," The Oklahoman reported.
McMillin reportedly felt a weapon during the pat down.
As he was being patted down, Walker took off running. McMillian, who was wearing a body camera, chased him.
Several seconds into the chase, Walker turned and briefly stooped to the ground, seemingly to pick something up.
McMillin then pulled out his gun and fired five shots. Walker tumbled into a ditch and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they released the video in an effort to be transparent. Muskogee Sgt. Michael Mahan said that "it is our belief that the video clearly shows the suspect pointing the gun at the officer." Mahan also told KFOR that "from everything we can see in the video, the officer responded appropriately."
After the shooting, police found a loaded gun near Walker's body, KFOR reported.
Police body cameras became a national topic of discussion following the death of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown in August.
During the protests following Brown's shooting, many protesters and others argued that body cameras would create greater police accountability. The discussion over accountability continued after the killings of Tamir Rice and Eric Garner.
Then, late last year, President Obama announced a plan to fund body cameras for thousands of police officers.
In Muskogee, McMillin is among a first wave of 50 officers who began wearing a body camera in November, according to CBS 6.
The video of Walker's shooting on Jan. 17 is not the first of it's kind; in September, for example, a Salt Lake City officer wearing a running camera shot and killed Dillion Taylor.
Still, the videos are relatively rare and offer an alternative to the type of situation that unfolded after Brown's killing, where conflicting witness accounts left questions that may never be answered.
