The Greensboro Police Department publicly released video on Monday from body camera footage of a fatal shooting last August. A Superior Court judge recently granted the request to release the recording.
The video shows Officer Lewis J. Wyatt responding to a daytime trespassing call and finding Said Ezzine. Ezzine soon becomes agitated and refuses to allow a weapon search. He grabs a saw blade, drops it, and then a pipe wrench and approaches the officer, who fires his gun, striking Ezzine, who died at the scene.
Following the incident, Wyatt was placed on administrative duty while the State Bureau of Investigation looked into the case. Police Chief Kamran Afzal says he’s committed to transparency, and he says the release of the video is part of that commitment.
"Professional policing also requires us to continually evaluate whether there are opportunities to slow situations down, create additional time and distance, and improve coordination and strengthen our response to individuals in crisis or those with known histories of violence and instability," says Afzal.
Earlier this month, the Guilford County District Attorney determined that the use of deadly force by Wyatt was legally justified.