Silke Jasso
Video footage captured by the body camera of an Oklahoma police officer shows an unarmed 19-year-old man being shot to death after making a gun shape with his fingers and pointing them at cops.
Videos by Rare
Andrew Henson of Wagoner, Okla., died in June after leading police on a high-speed chase. The chase began when an officer approached Henson’s vehicle over an outstanding warrant in Mississippi.
According to police, Henson rammed a cruiser in pursuit of his vehicle before he was stopped by police.
Once he was out of his car, Henson ran and shouted, “You’re going to have to kill me, n****r,” at the white officer who chased him.
That’s when police say Henson made a “threatening gesture” toward the officers, which some believe was an attempt to make his hands look like a gun.
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Henson was shot several times before falling to the ground.
After being shot, he tried to get up and, though he was unarmed, the officer fired a final shot into Henson, leading to his death.
“Mr. Henson failed to comply with the commands he was given and he reacted to what he perceived,” Wagoner Police Chief Bob Haley said in response to the video.
A woman who lives near the spot where Henson died told NewsOn6 in Oklahoma that the whole ordeal left the neighborhood quite startled.
“I ain’t never going to forget this,” Cynthia Crawford said.
“I visit him almost every day, or every other day. I come and plant those flowers down there for him.”
Despite the grim outlook of the video, NewsOn6 reported that most people still believe the police made the right call at the time.
“I don’t second-guess them at all,” another neighbor said.
