ST. LOUIS — Friday afternoon, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department allowed reporters to view security video from an investigation into the deadly shooting of 16-year-old Darryl Ross by police late Sunday night.
St. Louis Police Lt. John Green allowed reporters to watch the silent video twice but did not distribute the video or allow reporters to record the video off the TV screen. He said it's "still an open investigation and they're still talking to witnesses."
"I'm not gonna draw any conclusions on what occurred," Green said.
5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend was among the reporters who viewed the 9-minute, 12-second surveillance video.
The video was taken around 11:30 Sunday night at the Shell gas station near north Florissant and St. Louis avenues.
The video first showed Ross, several other young men and a female arriving at the gas station in a red SUV.
Several times in the video, police pointed out that several of the young males had handguns on them. Police said in the video Ross adjusted a gun he had tucked under his left armpit.
Minutes later police say Ross "walked off very quickly” behind the gas station when officers arrived, followed him and announced their presence.
The video showed Ross running, tripping over a curb, and dropping a gun.
On Friday, police maintained "as he came up, the teen reached for the gun" and that's when two officers shot him, killing him. 5 On Your Side's Robert Townsend said this portion of the video was blurry, and it was unclear if Ross was reaching for the gun.
During the briefing, Green only answered six questions in three minutes.
"I did observe a gun,” Green said. “That's one element I saw. The subject did have a gun. That's when the officer went for deadly force.”
The video also showed several officers rendering aid to the teenager before he died.
No officers were injured during the incident. The officers involved are 37 years old with 14 years on the police force and 27 years old with 4 years on the force.
Hours after the briefing, a small group of protestors demonstrated outside police headquarters.
"No, he didn't threaten. He didn't aim a gun at them," said Patricia Tracy, a member of Solidarity Coalition of STL-Metro East.
The coalition and Ross' family insist police shot the boy in his back as he was running away.
"We want the video released to the public," Tracy said. "We want accountability, and we want answers."
Green said he was "pretty sure" the video would be released sometime later.
Protestors will demonstrate again at that Shell gas station Saturday, Sept. 17. Then, on Sunday, Sept. 18, they will march in the Central West End.