Pasadena, California, police released several videos and a photo from a police-involved shooting after a Black man—whom authorities say was armed—was killed by an officer following a traffic stop, the Los Angeles Times reports.
According to the report, the incident all began Saturday evening, when two officers pulled over a vehicle that did not have a front license plate. Police determined that the driver, who is unidentified, had a suspended license, and officers ordered the driver, as well as 32-year-old Anthony McClain, out of the car.
The footage released shows McClain breaking out into a run as officers yell. One officer briefly gives chase before, in mere seconds, he fires two shots, striking McClain once near his rib cage.
Both officers had body cameras on them, according to police, but one was not working at the time of the shooting.
Officers say that there was something shiny around his waistband, which then appears in his left hand as he runs away. That was identified as a weapon by police.
“The natural swinging movement of the individual’s arms while running revealed what both officers immediately recognized as a firearm in his left hand,” the department said, according to KTLA 5.
Police say that McClain turned to look at the officers, apparently prompting officers to fear that he would shoot them.
After being shot, McClain ran about 50 yards before tossing the alleged weapon and then collapsed some 20 yards later. He later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.
Police say they recovered an illegally assembled gun nearby, according to the Times.
However, Caree Harper, an attorney representing McClain’s family, said that what police believe was a weapon was McClain’s belt buckle.
“We believe the area that police say it was a weapon was, in fact, his Michael Kors belt,” Harper said.
Protests demanding justice for McClain have broken out in Pasadena.
“If you did something wrong, if you have an illegal firearm, let’s deal with that through the court system,” Pastor Kerwin Manning said at a rally on Thursday, according to KTLA. “But our Black men and women are not even getting an opportunity to make it to court and we’re tired of it.”