Video in Florida police shooting: ‘Get on the ground or you’re dead!’

Attorneys for the family of a man who was fatally shot by Miami Gardens, Fla., police this year said Wednesday that a dash-cam video showed him being chased by officers before he was told to “get on the ground or you’re dead!”

Lavall Hall, 25, was shot near his family’s home at% 5 a.m. on Feb. 15 after his mother, Catherine Daniels, called police about his erratic behavior and asked for their help. She said her son, who at the time was dressed in a tank top and underwear and holding a broom, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“He had gotten out of the hospital the week before,” Glen Goldberg, one of two attorneys representing the family, told The Times in a phone interview. “She called and said, ‘Please take my child to a mental health facility.’”

Goldberg said the violence seen on the video was on par with what occurred in South Carolina, where North Charleston Police Officer Michael Thomas Slager shot and killed Walter Lamar Scott.

The nearly 20-minute video, a copy of which was given to the family by the city of Miami Gardens on Friday, briefly shows Hall in at least several frames moving away from the officers. The broom he holds at his side is visible.

“While our country is so concerned with what happened in South Carolina, they should be concerned with what happened in Miami Gardens,” Goldberg said.

Asked about the timing of Wednesday’s release, Goldberg said that it was not inspired by South Carolina, that it was “always their intent” to release it.

Judd Rosen, the family’s other attorney, told reporters that Hall’s relatives had heard nothing about the investigation.

Police said Hall became aggressive with the broom, and when a Taser failed to subdue him, they were forced to open fire.

“I just saw him. Where did he go?” an officer asks as he drives past Hall’s mother at 4:56 a.m. “Is he gonna go home?”

“Yeah, but he’s got a problem, and I’m scared,” Daniels tells the officer. “Just don’t hurt my child please.”

Hall can be seen walking on the side of the road, broom in hand.

The police catch up to him two minutes later, but Hall runs away. No person is visible in the video for the next two minutes. Then the audio picks up a conversation.

“Hey, easy!” a male voice says off-screen. “Hey, get back!”

“Get on the ... ground or you’re dead!” a voice yells. “Get on the ground or you’re dead!”

It was 5 a.m.

An officer comes into view, backpedaling as he fires. As the last of five shots are fired, the officer’s gun is aimed downward at the street where Hall apparently has fallen.

The Police Department said in a statement that the release of the video, as well as rear-view camera footage, “represents the department’s complete response to Ms. Daniels’ request.”

A spokesman for Florida State Atty. Katherine Fernandez Rundle said it was inappropriate to discuss matters related to an investigation.

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