April 16, 2019

Police body cam video from the latest fatal police shooting was released Monday afternoon. Tuesday morning, Mayor Vi Lyles, City Manager Marcus Jones and Police Chief Kerr Putney sat at the front of a packed Forum assembly to answer questions.

Most of the questions dealt, one way or another, with: What will it take to stop the confrontations that lead to lives cut short or irrevocably altered?

From both the audience and the presenters’ table, there were pleas that no one person, no one group, no one law change will be enough.

But there were pledges of action. Mayor Lyles and Manager Jones both said that what the city has learned in the last year will create changes in the upcoming city budget. Not just in how much money is spent to address issues underlying gun violence, but in how it is spent. And there were voices from the faith community and from existing nonprofits of renewed efforts.

Another headline from the Forum: Putney said it is a serious offense for officers not to turn on their body cameras during such incidents. The video released Monday shows two officers with drawn guns standing over a crouching Danquirs Franklin before Franklin was shot. Putney said that when the incident was over, only one video was found.

In the video below, the presentations begin almost immediately. Questions begin at minute 8:12.