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Video: Fla. OIS under renewed scrutiny after footage released

Officer said he believed suspect was reaching for a gun and only fired shots after the man failed to comply with commands

By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida deputy’s shooting of an unarmed man is under renewed scrutiny after the emergence of video.

Palm Beach County Deputy Adams Lin was cleared of any wrongdoing in the 2013 shooting of 22-year-old Dontrell Stephens. He said he believed Stephens was reaching for a gun and only fired shots after the man failed to comply with commands to raise his hands. But new video shows the only object in Stephens’ hand was a cellphone and no commands are heard from Lin.

An attorney representing Lin and the sheriff’s office said Friday that a microphone on the deputy simply didn’t capture the audio, and that he had seconds to figure out what was in the man’s hands.

Stephens was left a paraplegic by the shooting.

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