EVIDENCE

Body-Cam Footage Shows Minneapolis Man Had Gun, Begged Cops Not to Shoot Him

Thurman Blevins was killed last month in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis police have released body-camera footage from two officers involved in the fatal shooting last month of a 31-year-old black man, showing the man—who appears to have a gun—was shot from behind after a foot chase. Officers Justin Schmidt and Ryan Kelly were responding to a 911 call of a man firing a gun into the air on June 23. The video shows the man— Thurman Blevins—seated on a curb near a woman with a child in a stroller. One officer says: “He’s got a gun!” Blevins jumps up and runs, as the police yell “Stop, stop! Put your hands up! I will [expletive] shoot you!” Blevins yells back, “I didn’t do nothing, bro,” “Please don’t shoot,” and “Leave me alone.” Investigators said both Kelly and Schmidt fired their weapons and an autopsy showed Blevins was shot multiple times. Sydnee Brown, a cousin of Blevins, told the Star Tribune that the video confirms her belief that he was not a threat to police. “He didn’t deserve to die,” Brown said. “He wasn’t a threat when [the officers] approached him. They didn’t view him as a human being.” The officers are on paid administrative leave.