An East Lansing police car is pictured on July 6th, 2017.
—The East Lansing Police Department, or ELPD, released interior Meijer video footage from the April 25 officer-involved shooting of a Black man named DeAnthony VanAtten.
The footage shows VanAtten buying macaroni and cheese and corn at a self-checkout counter.
This goes against previous claims made by the ELPD that said VanAtten had not bought any items from the store. Previously released videos also showed VanAtten running out of the store with a white grocery bag.
However, the newly released-interior video shows him purchasing the items and then putting a receipt in a white grocery bag.
Other interior videos show VanAtten running in the store or officers running after him. An officer is shown in one video to be running with a stun gun.
However, it is unknown why the officers were in pursuit of VanAtten.
ELPD declined to specify the crime VanAtten was being investigated for due to the ongoing investigation.
Per ELPD’s policy, the two officers, who shot VanAtten, are being placed on paid administrative leave.
On May 13, the Michigan State Police announced it had completed its investigation of the shooting. The investigation has been turned over to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for review.
The names of both officers who shot VanAtten, Jose Viera and Jim Menser, have since been released as part of the department's use of force reports.
There are a total of 12 interior videos that show footage from inside the store, with some redactions of faces for privacy reasons.
The videos can be found here. Some videos depict graphic images of violence.
“This video footage is being released as a part of ELPD’s ongoing commitment to transparency in this case and to accommodate a request made by the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission,” Police Chief Kim Johnson said in the press release.
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