ST. LOUIS — Local leaders on Tuesday called for St. Louis police to release surveillance footage showing the moments leading up to Sunday night’s fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Darryl Ross.
They urged transparency from the department, especially because police were not wearing body cameras and there are conflicting accounts of what happened that night. As communities still harbor a deep mistrust in police, they argued, it’s crucial the videos are released in the interest of public safety.
“The first thing is obviously we mourn with the family — it’s a loss of life, and it’s more difficult when it is a teenager,†said civil rights activist the Rev. Darryl Gray. “Too many of our children have been killed in the streets of St. Louis, and when children are killed by police officers it is particularly painful, making it more urgent that transparency becomes the priority.â€
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Sarah Nixon, Fatal State Violence Project program coordinator, told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday the organization was providing Darryl’s family grief support and other aid.
“It’s a tragic loss, and it’s the consequence of these systems that have evolved and adapted over the centuries,†Nixon said.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones confirmed Tuesday her office is working with the police department to gather all available footage to release to the public “as soon as possible.†A more definitive timeline was not available.
Interim Public Safety Director Dan Isom did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Police on Monday said two drug enforcement detectives approached the gas station around 11:30 p.m. because there were multiple people with guns in the parking lot. When they saw Darryl “quickly walking away,†they said they followed him into a side alley in their unmarked vehicle, got out and announced themselves while wearing vests with the word “POLICE†on them.
They reported Darryl went through a hole in a nearby fence and ran west across the Shell station’s storefront.
As they chased him, Darryl tripped near the side of the store, and police said he dropped a pistol and reached for it. That’s when the detectives said they both fired shots at the teenager.
But Darryl’s mother, Jukita Johnson, said she witnessed the whole encounter and disputed key facts, including whether officers identified themselves as they approached the teen and whether his gun was out at any time.
Police said they have no information indicating that any of Darryl’s family members were present during the shooting.
At least six surveillance cameras are posted on the outside of the Shell building and one of the police department’s mobile shot spotter units with surveillance cameras is stationed across the street on St. Louis Avenue.
State Rep. Rasheen Aldridge’s district includes the Shell station, and he said he lives just a few blocks from the convenience store. He believes Darryl’s family deserves to know the truth, no matter what that truth is.
“I’m not saying that what police said was not true, but I think in the world that we live in, we’ve seen how this community — people that look like me — feels distrust still when it comes to law enforcement, and when these situations happen, it’s just a little questionable,†he said.
He also noted that Shell station is itself a larger problem as a notorious location for shootings and other criminal activity.
Gray said while he and others in the community understand the need for police to take time and investigate, he believes releasing the videos quickly is best for the community at large given the policing climate nationwide.
“The destination is the truth,†Gray said. “I am paying attention, I hope everyone is, but there is a 16-year-old child who is dead, and there is a family who is mourning, and everybody in the city needs answers right now.â€
Austin Huguelet and Taylor Tiamoyo Harris of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.