MESQUITE, Texas — Mesquite police officials released on Thursday bodycam and surveillance footage from the deadly police shooting of a 19-year-old man that happened last week.
Payton Lawrence was shot and killed by a 17-year department veteran around 3 a.m. on Dec. 14., officials say.
The officer has not been identified.
Since the shooting, Lawrence's family has pushed for transparency in the investigation and has called for the release of any and all video related to the shooting.
Shortly after 4 p.m., Mesquite police posted to the city of Mesquite's YouTube page an almost 14-minute, edited video that combined surveillance and body footage from the incident.
"We are still at the very early stages of his investigation, and our understanding of the incident may change as additional evidence is collected, analyzed and reviewed," Mesquite public information officer Sergeant Curtis Phillip says at the start of the video. "We also do not draw any conclusions about whether the officer acted consistently with our policies and the law until all the facts are known and the investigation is complete."
In the video, Phillip said the officer involved in the shooting was on "routine patrol" in the area of E. Cartwright Road and Edwards Church Road at approximately 2:57 a.m. on the date of the shooting when he spotted a silver Hyundai sedan being followed by a Chrysler sedan turning westbound onto Cartwright Road and entering the 7-Eleven parking lot at the corner of Faithon P Lucas Sr. Boulevard and E. Cartwright Road.
The officer continued along the road on his patrol until, police said, department dispatch shared two minutes later that it had received a call reporting a silver Hyundai sedan having just been stolen at a nearby address.
The video then shows back alley surveillance footage showing an individual being dropped off by a sedan in the back alley of a residence at 2:52 a.m., and then walking away while the car sits and waits. Minutes later, surveillance video shows a silver Hyundai sedan joining the other car in the alley, and then the driver of the second car exiting the vehicle to communicate with the driver and passengers in the first car. The video then shows the two cars taking off together.
Next, surveillance footage shows both cars pulling into the 7-Eleven parking lot at exactly 3 a.m., and parking at separate gas pumps. The driver of the silver Hyundai can be seen exiting the vehicle to interact with people in the Chrysler. The driver, and a passenger from the second vehicle, then enter the store and make a purchase. As they do, a Mesquite Police SUV can be seen entering the parking lot at 3:04 a.m. and turning on its lights as it pulls behind the Hyundai.
Bodycam footage then shows the officer exiting his car, and approaching the empty Hyundai with his service weapon drawn. The officer then can be seen approaching the Chrysler to "contact the occupants." As he does, the driver of the Hyundai and the passenger from the Chrysler can be seen exiting the store. As they approach the car, the officer can be seen raising his gun and commanding the two suspects to "Show me your hands" and "Get on the ground now!" and telling dispatch he has "two at gunpoint" between addressing the suspects.
The passenger and the driver of the Hyundai then can be seen running from the scene, which the officer reports to dispatch.
The officer then can be heard shouting at the remaining suspects still in the Chrysler, "Do not move or I f---ing kill you. Do you understand me?"
At that point, the officer began to provide dispatch descriptions of the suspects who ran from the scene. Video shows the car then start to slowly move in reverse, backing away from the officer.
"Shut the car off now," the officer can be heard repeatedly shouting while slamming the hood of the car with a flashlight and pointing his gun at the driver.
The video then shows the driver stopping the car to avoid hitting another car in the lot, and then moving slightly forward and changing its angle. The officer can then be seen running to maintain position directly in front of the car. The driver of the vehicle then puts the car back into reverse and continues to change its angle, aiming the car toward the parking lot exits. As he does, the officer can be seen keeping a hand on the hood of the car and moving with the car as it moves away from him.
The video then shows the car stop, shift into drive and begin to move forward. At that point, video shows, the officer fired three rounds through the windshield of the car, striking its driver.
As the car continues its forward progress, the officer can be seen opening the front passenger door, pointing his gun inside, and shouting "Don't f---ing move!" at the occupants of the car. As the car continues to move forward, the officer opens the back passenger car, and shouts at the people seated in the backseat to "Stay in the car!"
The video shows multiple sets of empty hands being held in the air in the back seat as the car continues to move toward a curb, where it will eventually come to a stop. As it does, another set of police sirens can be heard arriving on the scene at 3:06 a.m.
The footage ends shortly thereafter.
According to Phillips, three occupants were detained from the backseat of the car, and the driver was then removed from the car as well so life-saving measures could be performed. Three minutes and 25 seconds passed between the shooting, the detaining of the suspects from the backseat, and the beginning first aid for the driver, Phillips said.
A still photo shared in the video shows someone bent over a body that's lying on the ground.
A Mesquite Fire Department ambulance later arrived on the scene and pronounced the driver dead.
Police said they discovered multiple weapons and ammunition while inspecting the car -- a handgun on the driver's floorboard, a pistol on the front passenger floorboard, and an AR pistol and additional pistol in the backseat.
Police later identified the driver of the Chrysler as Payton Lawrence, who police said had an outstanding warrant at the time of his death for an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Two of the three people sitting in the backseat of the car were interviewed by police and released, and the third was arrested on outstanding warrants, Phillips said.
Police used a helicopter and K9 units to help search for the suspects who left the scene, but Phillips said neither suspect was located.
"The Mesquite Police Department will continue to investigate and analyze this incident," Phillips said.
Upon completion of their investigation, it will be referred to the Dallas County District Attorney's Office for review, Phillips said. The DA's office also sent investigators to the scene to conduct their own, independent investigation, he added. Mesquite PD's internal affairs division will also investigate.
"The question is, was that officer in imminent danger the moment he decided to pull the trigger?" said James Hawthorne, a long-time law enforcement expert.
Hawthorne is not connected to the case but says it comes down to whether the officer's actions were reasonable.
Another component to this case will be whether Mesquite Police has a 'duty to retreat' or 'obligation to get out of harms way' policy where "the officer has an obligation to remove himself from that situation," he said.
An earlier press release shared by Mesquite police shared that the officer involved in the fatal shooting had an "engagement" with the second vehicle he encountered at the gas station, and added that its occupants were uncooperative with the officer's commands to turn off the vehicle and to stop moving it. The release attributed "furtive" movements inside the car during the interaction as another reason for the officer opening fire.
At no point in the release or in the video did the department note that the officer said he felt his life was being threatened as a possible justification for opening fire.
The release added that multiple firearms were recovered from Lawrence's car, but neither the release nor the video say whether those guns were illegally obtained or possessed. It is not a crime to have a gun in a vehicle in Texas.
"There was no justification for the use of deadly force in the death of Payton Lawrence," said attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing Lawrence's family, said after seeing the video released by Mesquite police. "There was plenty of opportunity for de-escalation to be used in this case." Merritt says he intends to file a claim in federal court for the use of excessive force.
When Stephen Lawrence, Payton Lawrence's father, spoke at the Mesquite city council meeting Monday to demand the footage be released, he said he was surprised by the lack of concern he saw from city officials about the death of his son.
"I'm not saying that all officers are bad, but this situation is bad," Stephen Lawrence said at the podium. "When I look at you all up here, I don't see concern. It's just normal business for y'all, and that's sad."