EL CAJON, Calif. _ Authorities on Friday released cellphone and surveillance video showing the fatal police shooting this week of an unarmed black man in El Cajon, hoping to quell growing questions about the incident that has led to violent protests.
The video provides more context about the moment before the fatal encounter, though officials stressed their investigation remains in its early stages and that evidence is still being gathered.
The cellphone video showed the man, Alfred Olango, weaving back and forth in a parking lot as a police officer confronted him on Tuesday. The video shows the officer, identified as Richard Gonsalves, following Olango with his gun drawn and pointing the weapon at the man.
Olango then clasps his hands together, and Gonsalves opens fire. Olango's sister, who had called police earlier to say her brother was acting strangely, is heard wailing behind Gonsalves.
A second video from a fast-food restaurant security camera shows Gonsalves following Olango through the parking lot. At some point, Olango starts walking rapidly toward the officer, who appears to back up. For a few seconds, Gonsalves and Olango appear to be jockeying with each other. A second officer, Josh McDaniel, appears, then Gonsalves fires. This angle of the video makes it difficult to see exactly what Olango was doing.
Authorities have said Olango had a electronic cigarette in his hands and pointed at Gonsalves in a "shooting stance."
El Cajon Police Chief Jeff Davis said the department decided to release the video in hopes of giving the public a better sense of what happened and for the well-being of the community. He said the move was also influenced by three nights of unrest in El Cajon.
Protesters and others have been calling on authorities to release the video.
Between 50 and 75 protesters stopped vehicles, broke car windows and knocked a rider off his motorcycle Thursday night, according to the El Cajon Police Department.
A San Diego Union-Tribune photographer also was beaten and robbed as he photographed a fight Thursday night at the scene of the shooting. Photographer Greg Torkelson was sitting in his truck at 12:45 a.m. editing video when a fight erupted between two men. He started photographing the fight and was attacked by the men. One of the men stole his camera, the newspaper reported.
As the violence escalated, law enforcement officials declared an unlawful assembly and ordered protesters to disperse.
That's when protesters began throwing glass bottles at officers, prompting police to shoot pepper-spray balls at them, authorities said.
Two men, 19 and 28 years old, were arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly, police said.
The violence came hours after Olango's family called for unity and peaceful protests.
"I am always for peace," Olango's mother, Pamela Benge, told reporters Thursday. "I don't want war. If you have seen war, you will never ever, ever want to step near."
Olango's mother said her son needed help because he was having a mental breakdown after just losing a friend, who recently died.
Olango, a Ugandan refugee, came to the U.S. with his family to escape the violence in the war-torn country.
On Thursday, U.S. Immigration officials said they tried twice to deport Olango for drug and firearms convictions, but their attempts were ignored by the Ugandan government.
Community activists and family had urged El Cajon police to release video of the fatal shooting. The National Action Network in San Diego called for a unity rally on Saturday and a "National Day of Justice" in El Cajon.
The shooting was recorded by a bystander, who gave the video to investigators. Police already had released a still photograph of the shooting.
