By Jordan Fouts

Source The Elkhart Truth, Ind.

ELKHART, IN—The City of Elkhart has released camera footage showing the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy by police at High Dive Park.

The recordings taken by body-worn and in-car cameras captured the exchange of gunfire on Feb. 8 that killed Bryan Axel Ramírez Gómez of Elkhart. They were shown to the media during a closed-door presentation Wednesday.

In the recordings, officers are questioning the occupants of a vehicle parked there at around 1:30 a.m. while responding to a suspicious vehicle report. Patrolman Nicholas Ragsdale is standing at the driver’s side when he aims a handgun at the front passenger while yelling for him to show his hands.

Gunfire erupts immediately afterward. An isolated frame from one of the videos shows what police said is a muzzle flash coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle.

Investigators determined that, of the 11 shell casings found at the scene, Ramírez Gómez had fired once while Ragsdale and Patrolman Thomas Breneman each fired five shots.

Ramírez Gómez was struck three times: once in the head, once in the torso and once in the leg, in addition to evidence of shrapnel injuries. Police gave Ramírez Gómez first aid and medics soon transported him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mayor Rod Roberson called the video “disturbing” but said he made a commitment that, when legally possible, the city would release the body camera footage so the community could see what happened.

“A 17-year-old lost his life that morning,” Roberson said. “No matter the circumstances that led up to that moment, an Elkhart family is now grieving the permanent loss of their son, brother and grandson. We acknowledge their pain and we extend our deepest, most sincere condolences to their family.”

The shooting was investigated by the Elkhart County Homicide Unit while outside experts examined the ballistics and video evidence. Ramírez Gómez’s family and the community heard little about the investigation until the Elkhart County prosecuting attorney announced five months later that the shooting was justified.

Prosecutor Vicki Becker on July 9 said the shooting was in self-defense and in defense of others, and that no criminal charges would be filed against Ragsdale or Breneman.

Relatives have threatened legal action against the city, but legal counsel John Espar said the city had not yet received formal notice.

Becker said the city would make determinations on whether department policy was followed and when the officers, who were placed on administrative leave, may return to duty.

Police Chief Andy Whitmyer said Wednesday that the patrolmen had returned to duty. He said they had acted according to their training.

“To the question of, does it prompt any change to approaching a similar situation from a law enforcement perspective, based on the facts and circumstances of this case, no,” he said.

Roberson said the deadly encounter unfolded in just seconds.

“The evidence also demonstrates that our officers responded in accordance with their training, during an encounter that unfolded in a matter of three seconds,” he said. “They were forced to make life-or-death decisions in an extremely dangerous situation, and we are very grateful that Officer Ragsdale and Officer Brenneman, who have families, survived. And that no additional lives were lost that were on the scene at the moment and that morning.”

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