ORLANDO, Fla. — A fight outside a downtown Orlando bar two weeks ago resulted in a fatal officer-involved shooting early on Easter morning, raising ongoing questions.
The family of Johnathan Flores and his friends allege he was shot from behind. The Orlando Police Department has recently released footage of the moments leading up to officers opening fire.
The Flores family emphasizes that these videos do not conclusively address the primary question: “Was Johnathan Flores reaching for a hat or his gun?”
In the video, Flores is seen engaging in a fight when a gun drops from his pants. After retrieving the weapon, he walks a short distance and fires it into the air.
The sound of gunshots triggers a panic, prompting people to flee while officers converge on Flores. He seems to wobble slightly, attempting to retrieve something from the ground as officers yell commands. As he starts to rise and turns to face the officers, the police begin to shoot.
Kenny Riley, a longtime friend and former roommate of Flores, asserts, “he never threatened anyone. He never pointed the gun. He was picking a hat up off the ground. But I believe that when the police were informed he had fired a weapon, their immediate response was, ‘Let’s neutralize the threat.’”
Riley labeled Flores’ choice to bring a gun downtown as foolish. He believed his friend was under the influence. Furthermore, he argued that the Orlando Police officers provided him no opportunity to follow their instructions.
Channel 9 is still reviewing some of the video’s angles and slowing the chain of events down. We will provide additional updates accordingly.
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