The Houston Police Department released graphic body cam video Thursday of a deadly officer-involved shooting in southeast Houston earlier this month.
Two officers were on routine patrol on July 9 when they spotted Alva Brazile with a gun in the middle of Cullen Boulevard.
Police say Braziel ignored orders to drop the gun, and then pointed it at them so they shot and killed him.
Mayor Sylvester Turner said he decided to release the graphic body cam video in the interest of transparency because of tensions over other recent police shootings around the country.
"For them to be able to see it, and be able to see that in this particular incident, that Mr. Braziel did have a gun," Mayor Turner said.
HPD posted the video -- a compilation of two surveillance cameras and two HPD body cams -- on their YouTube site.
We have chosen to release the unedited version online, also in the interest of transparency.
WARNING:: The video is extremely graphic and shows Brazile being shot, along with his body afterwards. It also includes graphic language.
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Brazile's wife, Nikki, saw the video before it was released to the public, and said it only raised more questions for her.
"My reaction when I saw that video was, 'Why? Why?,'" Brazile asked. "What happened to, 'Can we help you? Put the gun down.' They don't do that anymore?"
The body cam footage did not show the actual shooting. HPD addressed that in a written statement:
“The two officers viewed the threat to themselves and the public as immediate, stopped their patrol vehicle and exited the vehicle even before it was in park. Once the threat was contained, officers activated their cameras."
After the shooting, the video shows other officers arriving and a crowd gathering.
Officer 2 to officers arriving: “Hey just make sure nobody runs up with no pistols or nothing, man. There’s a lot of people out here on every corner.”
Officer 1 to other officers: “Watch your back.”
One officer asked for crowd control as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Officer 3: “Is there anything we need to secure?”
Officer 2 (pointing to the gun and talking about his partner: “He saw him. Gun”
Officer3: “Where is it?”
Officer 2: “Right there.”
Officer 1: “He had it in his hand. We just..."
Multiple officers: “Don’t touch it. Don’t touch it up.”
Then the officers explained to a supervisor what happened.
Officer 1 walks back to the body: “First we just thought he was gonna flag us down for a report or something.
Officer 4: “Jesus Christ."
Officer 1: “And he’s in the middle of the street pointing the gun at us.”
Officer 2 (gesturing): “Pointing straight at us and then we came out. (holding his arms up with his hand shaped like a pistol) He started doing this. We kept telling him to put it down. I saw his arm start to come back down. And that’s when I went at him.”
Officer 5: “Was he just in the middle of the street?”
Officer 1: “Yes, just in the middle of the street. We come to a stop. He comes over and he points the gun at us.”
"The reality is, this was not a case of an unarmed person being shot down by police," Mayor Turner said. "Now, do I regret the shooting of any kind, of any loss of life? Absolutely. But I do think, and I think most will agree, that if you're holding up a gun at 12:38, in the middle of the Cullen Street, and if you're turning around and if you point it, the results are not going to be good."
This is the first time HPD has released body camera video since officers began wearing the cameras earlier this year.
