Family Wishes To Release Video Of Miami Gardens Police Shooting
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – First they asked for an independent review of the shooting. They followed that up with a lawsuit. Now, the family of Lavall Hall has requested the Miami-Dade State Attorney allow them to make public a copy of a Miami Gardens Police recording of the shooting.
On Friday, Hall's family lawyer Glen Goldberg received dash cam video taken from the front of one of the police cars that responded to the scene where Hall was shot by Miami Gardens Police officers.
Goldberg is not allowed to release the video or speak about it. He's only able to show it to the family and use it for purposes involving the pending lawsuit against the City of Miami Gardens.
However, in a letter addressed to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Goldberg states the family wishes to release the tape to the media.
Goldberg sites three possible reasons the video can be released:
1. If it provides for public scrutiny of governmental action.
2. If the family has no objection to it being released because they are waiving their right to privacy.
3. The availability of similar information on other public records, regardless of form, is not available and does not corroborate the Police Department's publicly stated versions of the events.
"We have asked that this be done by 9 o'clock tomorrow morning," said Goldberg. "If it's not done or they do not agree to allow us to release the video, we intend on going to the court and asking the judge to order us to allow the video to be released so that the different medias can see this."
Hall was shot on Sunday, February 15th, after his family called police for assistance because he thought someone was after him.
Hall's family said he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. When the officers showed up Stephen Johnson, the police chief at the time, said Hall went after them.
If the release of the video is granted, soon everyone will get a glimpse of how it transpired that day.
"The video is very difficult to watch. It's quite demonstrative and the family's very upset by it," said Goldberg.