CCTV footage shows cop ‘ambush’

Black teen Antonio Martin was shot dead in Berkeley, Missouri, Tuesday night by the St Louis police. The shooting occurred five miles from where Mike Brown was shot in Ferguson, the heart of protest in America since August. The circumstances surrounding the death are unclear with police claiming that Martin was armed and drew a weapon. Witnesses at the scene claim that Martin was unarmed. He was reportedly with his girlfriend and another friend at the time of the shooting. Witnesses have claimed that Martin was still breathing at the time of being shot, but that medical assistance was not forthcoming. His mother Toni Martin was brought to the scene and watched from a distance as her son lay in the Mobil petrol station lot. The shooting has caused civil unrest, with four people reportedly arrested so far.

On the run ... Police try to control a crowd on the lot of a gas station following a shooting in Berkeley. Source: AP Source: AP

AMERICAN police have released new surveillance footage showing the violent confrontation which ended with a white police officer shooting dead an armed black teenager.

Antonio Martin was shot dead outside a petrol station about 11.15pm Tuesday local time in Berkeley, Missouri, a suburb near Ferguson where unarmed black teen Michael Brown was killed by a white cop in August.

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RELATED: Antonio Martin shot dead by police in Missouri near Ferguson

Amid violent protests, St Louis County Police Department have released several angles of Tuesday's shooting from surveillance video.

The third and final video, released yesterday, shows the unidentified police officer retreating and running for cover after firing shots at Martin. Shoppers can be seen running for safety.

Officers said Martin was left out of frame out of respect for his grieving family.

The officer is seen top right hand corner, approaching Martin with an unidentified man. Source: Supplied

A shopper runs to her car for safety moments after the shooting. Source: Supplied

 

After the shot is fired, the officer is flung to the ground. Source: Supplied

The officer, seen in the bakcground, checks the scene. Source: Supplied

The officer retreats for safety as a witness hides for cover. Source: Supplied

The new footage comes after the lawyer for the 34-year-old St Louis-area police officer said his client may have been ambushed by Martin and a second man.

"Their behaviour is certainly bizarre, and it wouldn't surprise me at all, in the environment we are in, that's for sure," Brian Millikan told The St Louis Post-Dispatch.

The shooting happened a few kilometres from where unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot dead by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson in August. Berkeley, like Ferguson, is a predominately black St Louis suburb.

A crowd of about 300 people gathered at the petrol station where Martin was shot, throwing rocks, explosives and bricks in a scene reminiscent of the sometimes-violent protests that followed Brown's death.

Police said three explosive devices, perhaps fireworks, were tossed near gas pumps. One officer hit by a brick was treated for facial cuts, and another was treated for a leg injury sustained as he retreated from an explosive.

More than 50 police officers responded to protests, with Berkeley Police Chief Frank McCall told KMOV-TV that six to eight people were arrested.

As protests continued into the night, about 100 people met at the petrol station for a vigil before marching to Interstate 170.

A closer angle shows Martin and the unidentified man talking to the officer. Source: Supplied

The clearest view of Martin pulling out a gun. Source: Supplied

Brushes with the law ... Police say Antonio Martin, 18, had been has been arrested numerous times in the last year. Police: St Louis County Police

Berkeley Mayor Theodore Hoskins last night called for calm, insisting the shooting could not be compared to the killing of Michael Brown and the policeman involved did not go off "half-cocked".

"This was not the same as Ferguson," he told NBC News.

"Everybody don't die the same. Some people die because the policeman initiated. Some people die because they initiated it. And at this point, our review indicates that the police did not initiate this, like Ferguson."

He said that unlike the shooting of Brown which was not captured on video, surveillance footage appeared to show Martin pulling a gun on the officer who questioned him and another man about a theft at a convenience store. Brown, on the other hand, was unarmed.

CCTV shows the unidentified man running into the gas station. Source: Supplied

After the shot is fired, the unidentified man runs. Source: Supplied

Police scuffle with protesters on the lot of a gas station following the shooting in Berkeley, Mo. St. Louis. Source: AP Source: AP

"You couldn't even compare this with Ferguson or the Garner case in New York," Hoskins said, referring to the chokehold death of Eric Garner, another black man killed by a white police officer.

Hoskins, who is black, also noted that unlike in Ferguson — where a mostly white police force serves a mostly black community — more than half of the officers in his city of 9,000 are black, including top command staff.

However, police involved in the latest incident were not wearing the personal video camera gear they had been issued with, and some St Louis protesters have questioned whether the distant and blurry footage shows Martin holding a mobile phone — and not his gun.

A demonstrator holds her hands up during protest outside the Mobil On-The-Run gas and convenience store in Berkeley, Missouri. Source: AFP Source: AFP

SHOTS FIRED

The shooting happened after police were called to the petrol station for an alleged robbery.

St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar did not provide details about the theft Martin was being asked about.

He said Martin pulled a loaded 9mm handgun and the officer fired three shots while stumbling backward. One hit Martin, who didn't fire his own gun. He died at the scene.

RELATED: Mother pen's emotive plea after 18-month old wounded by police

"I don't know why the guy didn't get a shot off, whether his gun jammed or he couldn't get the safety off," said attorney Brian Millikan, who is representing the officer.

He said that the officer, a six-year veteran of the police force, was lucky to be alive and certain he had no choice but to use lethal force.

Evidence assessed ... Police photograph a gun on the ground following a shooting at a gas station in Berkeley, St. Louis. Source: AP Source: AP

St Louis County police and the city of Berkeley are investigating the shooting of Martin, which Belmar called a tragedy for both Martin's family and the officer.

"He will carry the weight of this for the rest of his life, certainly for the rest of his career," Belmar said of the officer. "There are no winners here."

No surrender ... Protesters shut down an interstate at Airport Road in Berkeley for a second night after the shooting by a white police officer of a black 18-year-old. Source: AP Source: AP

Belmar said the officer wasn't wearing his body camera, and his cruiser's dashboard camera was not activated because the car's emergency lights were not on.

It is not clear if that was a deliberate choice.

Police released a photo of the weapon they recovered from the scene via Twitter.

Belmar said Martin had a criminal record that included three assault charges, plus charges of armed robbery, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.

Merry Christmas ... Heavily armed St. Louis Police officers guard the entrance to the Cathedral Basilica before Midnight Mass as protesters held a candlelight vigil. AP Source: AP

COMMUNITY GRIEF

Martin's mother, Toni Martin-Green, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Antonio was the oldest of four children.

"He's like any other kid who had dreams or hopes," she said. "We loved being around him. He'd push a smile out of you."

His was the third fatal shooting of a young black man by a white police officer in the St. Louis area since Brown was killed by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson on August 9.

Kajieme Powell, 25, was killed August 19 after approaching St. Louis officers with a knife. Vonderrit Myers, 18, was fatally shot on October 8 after allegedly shooting at a St. Louis officer.

Each killing has led to protests, as did a grand jury's decision last month not to charge Wilson in Brown's death.

Do or die ... Demonstrators participate in a die-in protest outside the Mobil On-The-Run gas and convenience store in Berkeley. Source: AFP Source: AFP

Growing unrest ... A woman walks with police near the gas station where black 18-year-old Antonio Martin was killed by police. Source: AP Source: AP

DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES

State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat who has been critical of how police handled the Brown case, said the Martin shooting was far different than Brown's, noting that Martin pointed a weapon at the officer.

"That officer not only has an obligation to protect the community, but he also has a responsibility to protect himself," said the senator, who is black. "Because of the video, it is more than apparent that his life was in jeopardy."

But Taurean Russell, co-founder of Hands Up United, asked if police had any reason to question Martin in the first place. Mistrust of police remains high among blacks, many of whom are weary of harassment, said Russell, who is black.

Some protesters questioned why the officer couldn't use pepper spray or a stun gun.

"Frankly, that's unreasonable," Belmar said.

"When we had somebody pointing a gun at a police officer, there's not a lot of time."

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