The Fresno Police Department released body camera video Wednesday showing Dylan Noble repeatedly ignoring officers’ demands that he stop moving back and forth at a gas station parking lot and show his hands before officers fired their weapons.
Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the investigation into the shooting is still underway, and he has not made a decision whether it was justified. But he said he wanted to release the video so the public could see a more complete picture of what officers faced as they confronted Noble and had to make decisions in mere seconds.
In releasing the video, Dyer appealed for calm from the community, saying tensions are high in the Valley and around the nation over police shootings, and one spark could ignite a proverbial forest fire.
“I am praying this video doesn’t serve as that spark in this community,” Dyer said.
During an afternoon news conference at police headquarters, Dyer walked reporters through videos from the body cameras of the two officers who fired their weapons. Dyer called the Wednesday conference “the most important” one in his tenure as chief.
Dyer told reporters he had originally planned to release the names of both officers, but he declined to do so Wednesday because the department’s legal counsel instructed him not to. The department has intercepted several threats made against the officers involved, although not by name. He noted that the recent shooting of 12 police officers in Dallas has caused him to fear for the safety of his own officers, especially given the controversy swirling around Noble’s death.
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