The fatal shooting of a man by police, which marked the end to a deadly carjacking rampage, has been brought into public view after the release of officer bodycam footage. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General Special Investigations Division made the videos public nearly a month after the 28-year-old Maryland man was killed.
According to the released footage, which was reported by WUSA9, officers involved did not turn on their body-worn cameras until after the shooting had occurred, leading to the absence of video depicting the exact moment when the suspect, identified as Artell Cunningham, was shot. The content of the videos is graphic, and the publication advises viewer discretion.
In a statement obtained by WTOP, the footage showed officers Purnell and Batenga with guns drawn, pointing at Cunningham, who was already on the ground in a parking lot. They were heard commanding Cunningham not to reach for the guns near his left shoulder. Cunningham adhered to the officers' commands, the footage showed.
The incident unfolded after the officers were conversing outside their patrol vehicle in a nearby lot and "were approached by a man with two firearms. The officers both discharged their weapons, striking the man," a narrative accompanying the video explained. It was further detailed by News4 that Cunningham's family was trying to locate him during his crisis, tracing his phone to the area of an earlier shooting on K Street. A family friend, speaking on behalf of Cunningham's mother, revealed that he had left a note expressing suicidal thoughts before.
This latest release of bodycam footage stirs the ongoing debate about police use of force and the critical moments that often remain unseen when body-worn cameras are not activated during the entirety of police interactions with suspects. The Attorney General’s office confirmed the officers turned on the cameras post-incident, providing only the aftermath of the tragic culmination of Cunningham's alleged crime spree.
