Body-worn camera footage released Monday captures a St. Louis police officer shooting 17-year-old Emeshyon Wilkins in the back of the head as he sprinted away. The video flatly contradicts the department's initial claim that Wilkins had pointed a gun at officers.
The footage begins after detectives tried to stop a reported-stolen SUV. Attorney Al Watkins, representing the Wilkins family, says the vehicle was moving at roughly 10 mph when the teen bailed out and ran. One officer chased with a taser, another with a drawn service weapon. The officer carrying the gun yells "drop the gun" twice, then fires. No weapon is visible in Wilkins's hands on the recording. A disassembled, non-functioning handgun was later found in the teen's pocket.
Watkins obtained the video only after filing a federal lawsuit; he says repeated records requests were denied for more than a year. "We had to file a federal lawsuit to get it. That's not transparent. That's not integrity. Indeed, it's irresponsible," Watkins told The Associated Press. Police spokesperson Mitch McCoy countered that the department is "committed to being as transparent as possible," and has since changed protocol so body-camera unit staff now respond directly to shooting scenes.
According to Watkins, the officer was placed on desk duty with pay. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office received the police investigative report in October and says it is conducting its own review "to determine whether there is a basis for criminal liability." Watkins questioned the delay: "The family needs answers, and the only way answers can be given is if there is justice that is open and transparent."
Shaina Wilkins, the teen's mother, told KMOV she still has not received a full explanation. "I'm still waiting, I need answers," she said. "He should still be here." Watkins added that St. Louis residents "deserve better than this" and warned that "the lives of our children are at stake."
The shooting evokes the 2014 killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. Brown's death sparked months of protest after witnesses said he had his hands up in surrender; the officer was cleared and resigned.
Body-worn camera footage released Monday captures a St. Louis police officer firing four shots at 17-year-old Emeshyon Wilkins, striking him once in the back of the head as he sprinted away. The video flatly contradicts the department’s initial claim that Wilkins had pointed a gun at officers. Wilkins, who had turned 17 only two weeks earlier and had no prior criminal record, died at the scene in June 2024.
The footage begins after detectives tried to stop a reported-stolen SUV. Attorney Al Watkins, representing the Wilkins family, says the vehicle was moving at roughly 10 mph when the teen bailed out and ran. One officer chased with a taser, another with a drawn service weapon. The officer carrying the gun yells “drop the gun” twice, then fires. No weapon is visible in Wilkins’s hands on the recording. A disassembled, non-functioning handgun was later found in the teen’s pocket.
Watkins obtained the video only after filing a federal lawsuit; he says repeated records requests were denied for more than a year. “We had to file a federal lawsuit to get it. That’s not transparent. That’s not integrity. Indeed, it’s irresponsible,” Watkins told The Associated Press. Police spokesperson Mitch McCoy countered that the department is “committed to being as transparent as possible,” and has since changed protocol so body-camera unit staff now respond directly to shooting scenes.
The officer who killed Wilkins remains on desk duty with pay. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office received the police investigative report in October and says it is conducting its own review “to determine whether there is a basis for criminal liability.” Watkins questioned the delay: “The family needs answers, and the only way answers can be given is if there is justice that is open and transparent.”
Shaina Wilkins, the teen’s mother, told KMOV she still has not received a full explanation. “I’m still waiting, I need answers,” she said. “He should still be here.” Watkins added that St. Louis residents “deserve better than this” and warned that “the lives of our children are at stake.”
The shooting revives scrutiny of St. Louis-area policing tactics a decade after the 2014 killing of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson. Brown’s death sparked months of protest after witnesses said he had his hands up in surrender; the officer was cleared and resigned. Watkins noted that after Ferguson the public was promised reform, yet Wilkins died under similar circumstances.
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The sources also report that the police officer who shot Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager in Ferguson, was white.