Video shows police shooting another unarmed black man in the back

Less than a month after the death of Walter Scott, another video has surfaced of a similar shooting. The new clip shows Dontrell Stephens, 20, of Palm Beach County, Florida, being shot in the back by a police officer while armed with nothing more than a cell phone. This incident occurred in September 2013, but the officer's dashcam footage was only this week obtained and released by a local news station.

Stephens survived the incident, but it left him paralyzed from the waist down. The video shows that his encounter with the officer began when he noticed a police car following him while he rode his bicycle. He stopped, got off the bike, and began to walk toward the car to speak to the officer. At that point, he steps out of frame for a moment, only to reappear, fleeing; he then appears to be shot four times.

The deputy who allegedly shot Stephens, Adams Lin, claimed he ordered Stephens to get on the ground before shooting him, but the video records no such commands. Lin went back to patrolling four days later, but the Palm Beach County attorney is now suing Lin's department on Stephens' behalf.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up