Family members of Antwon Cooper spoke out as new bodycam of the fatal traffic stop with Miami Police was released. NBC 6’s Julie Leonardi reports
Newly-released police body camera video shows the moment an officer shot and killed a man who struggled with another officer during a traffic stop in Miami last month.
The video released Friday shows the moments up to and immediately after the fatal March 8 shooting of 34-year-old Antwon Cooper.
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"Our son was taken away, we can never see him no more," said Gerald Adams, Cooper's father. "No telling how long this healing process will go."
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Cooper had been driving with another man in a car when he was pulled over in the area of Northwest 74th Street and 10th Avenue, not far from Miami Northwestern High School.
In the video, the officer orders Cooper out of the car before a struggle ensues.
Moments later, the fatal gunshot fired by a second officer who responded to the scene can be heard.
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"There was no lethal situation occurring when the sergeant shot him in the head and there was never a time that Mr. Cooper brandished a weapon on any officer there," family attorney Rawsi Williams said.
Miami Police officials said the officer who stopped Cooper noticed he was armed, and said a handgun was recovered at the scene.
But family members said they don't believe the shooting was justified, and are planning on filing a lawsuit.
"(Cooper) never punched him. He never swung at him. He never kicked him. He wasn’t brandishing any weapon. He wasn’t pointing any weapon at anybody," family attorney Frank Allied told NBC 6 last month. "The only thing that he was trying to do was to free himself from (the officer's) grip."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales said he met with Cooper's family last month.
“It was incredibly emotional for Assistant Chief Cherise Gause and myself meeting with the Cooper family today," Morales said in a statement. "We offered our condolences and we will continue to fully cooperate with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and offered any support needed by the family during this difficult time."
