TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Titusville Police Chief John Lau says it all happened in less than five seconds.
On Friday, Titusville police released a portion of the body camera video captured during the Feb. 7 police shooting that killed 25-year-old Tri-Marea Charles.
Earlier this week, the state attorney’s office determined police officers’ use of deadly force was “lawful and justified.”
Charles clearly knew he was dying. On the police body camera video, he can be heard saying, “I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m dead.”
An officer can be heard yelling for medical.
Charles’ mother, Samantha Charles, got her first look at the footage Thursday. She said, “It’s been four long months to get the footage to get answers to what happened to my son. and today I still don’t have closure for my baby.”
Titusville police have not released the raw footage of the incident to the public, citing an open internal affairs investigation. But in a pre-recorded statement, Lau said Charles ran out of the front of a residence on South Robbins avenue, tripped, dropped his weapon, but then picked it up. The chief says Charles quickly turned his body toward an officer while changing the gun from his left to his right hand. Two officers opened fire.
“While I am so proud of the professional way they handled themselves during this extremely violent encounter, I am deeply saddened that they were forced to take action to protect themselves and our community,” Lau said.
Attorney Natalie Jackson, the co-director of litigation at Ben Crump Law, has been in contact with the Charles family for months. After the video’s release, she released a statement saying:
“Transparency is the foundation of public trust. And let’s be honest, no mother should have to wait four months, like Ms. Charles did, to learn how their child died at the hands of police. That kind of delay isn’t just red tape. It’s inhumane.
“This has always been about transparency and accountability. When you keep a grieving family in the dark for months, it creates suspicion. It erodes trust. It forces them to mourn without answers. And if police believed the video supported the officers’ actions, then why the delay? Holding back footage makes it look like departments only released it when it suits their narrative. That’s not justice—that’s PR.
“This is why we’re calling on the Florida Legislature to establish clear statewide standards. Body camera footage should be released to the public within 15 days of a critical incident, and families should be notified and allowed to view the video within 24 hours. Waiting four months sends a clear message: the system protects itself first. That’s not transparency and it’s not justice."
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