Jacksonville, Florida: Sheriff Releases Bodycam Video of Fatal Shooting of Chau Duncan on Mar Vic Lane

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released body camera video on Wednesday, October 28, from the October 11 shooting on Mar Vic Lane in which officers shot and killed Chau Duncan, 34, and published the agency's preliminary account of two days of calls about a woman pointing a gun at people on the city's Northside.

The video runs nearly 14 minutes and was posted with the agency's written briefing on the shooting. The Sheriff's Office said the State Attorney's Office will review the shooting independently to assess whether the officers acted lawfully, and the agency will then run its own internal review. Conclusions from both reviews are still pending.

Two days of calls

According to the Sheriff's Office, the case began on October 10, when the agency's emergency communications center received a call reporting a woman dressed in a purple jumpsuit waving a firearm in the air. Officers responded to reports that day of a woman pointing a gun at people, but in each instance they could not find her.

On October 11, a third call came in just after 10 a.m. reporting that a woman had pointed a gun at a man. Officers E. Cobian and J. Curtis found Duncan yelling and throwing objects on a sidewalk, the agency said, and confirmed that she matched the description of the suspect from the gun incidents the day before.

What the video shows

The released footage shows officers trying to approach Duncan as she kept walking away from them, ignoring repeated commands to stop and show her hands. Officers followed her for about a quarter of a mile, the agency said, with Cobian driving a patrol car slowly toward her while Curtis and Officer J. Boykin walked behind it.

At an intersection, the Sheriff's Office said, Duncan pulled a firearm from her bag, pointed it at the officers and fired a round that struck the driver's side door of the patrol vehicle. Officers Curtis, Boykin and B. Herrin fired at the same time, striking Duncan. She was handcuffed, paramedics gave emergency medical aid, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the agency. Investigators later found that one of the rounds Duncan fired had jammed in her gun.

The Sheriff's Office said that had Duncan survived, she would have been arrested on four counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. The agency said her criminal history includes resisting a law enforcement officer, battery, criminal mischief and theft.

What happens next

The shooting remains under investigation. The State Attorney's Office review comes first, and only after it finishes will the Sheriff's Office complete its internal review of whether the officers acted within policy. The agency has not given a date for either finding.