Posted on July 12, 2024

Bodycam Video Shows Man Fatally Shot by Buffalo Police Sped Off While Officer Clung to Car

Aidan Joly, WIVB, July 11, 2024

The Buffalo Police Department released bodycam footage Thursday of the fatal shooting of a man by an officer early Wednesday morning on Kensington Avenue.

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“I believe that is a justified use of force that occurred the other night,” said Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia in a press conference Thursday. {snip}

Officer Ronald Ammerman shot and killed 25-year-old Daevon Roberts after Roberts was pulled over, initially for excessive speed and tinted windows. There was also a 6-year-old in the passenger seat of the car with no seatbelt on.

In the video, Roberts was asked for identification. When he told officers he didn’t have one on him, he showed a photo of a Georgia license on his phone, but the officer ran a search and found that the license in the photo was not valid. Roberts said the car he was driving belonged to his sister and that he was pulled over for window tint “every day.”

The video appears to show the officer opening the door to the vehicle before Roberts took off with the officer’s arm on top of the car and one leg in the doorframe. The vehicle accelerated and Officer Ammerman can be heard pleading with Roberts to stop, saying, “You’re gonna kill me, bro.” The speedometer in the video appears to indicate that the car was traveling over 60 mph and then slowed down, where it appears Roberts kicked at Ammerman, who fired several rounds and hit Roberts, as both fell out of the car. The bodycam footage shows the car driving through at least three blocks in a span of about 20 seconds before stopping.

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Later in April, Roberts was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal mischief connected to an alleged shots fired incident at a memorial for Griffin at Central Terminal. He was held without bail until the charges were changed to first-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon when he was indicted in June. He was released under supervision at that time.

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Original Article