Milwaukee police release bodycam footage of fatal shooting of Printis Smith by officer

Milwaukee police released bodycam footage of the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Printis Smith by an officer earlier this month.

The short clip shows two officers attempting to stop a vehicle near North 39th Street and West Meinecke Avenue on Sept. 8 when the driver of the vehicle fled and about a 90-second long pursuit began. Police said the vehicle was connected to a shooting incident in Glendale.

Upon arrival to the 2500 block of North 37th Street, the driver stopped and multiple people fled on foot. From there, the footage shows the officer pursuing Smith while yelling commands to get on the ground.

“Get on the ground! Bro, get the f— on the ground,” the officer said.

Seconds later, the officer catches up to Smith, grabs him by the shoulder, yells two more commands to get on the ground, before shooting Smith in the head, killing him.

The video then shows Smith lying on the ground while holding a gun in his hand. Police said another gun was recovered in his waistband and a third gun was found in the suspected vehicle.

Police reiterated on Sept. 23 in a statement that Smith and the officer “exchanged gunfire,” but the available footage does not clearly depict this, which is one of many critiques Smith’s family had upon reviewing the footage several days ago.

The officer that shot Smith has only been described by police as a 35-year-old man with three years of service. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of a “non-fatal injury” and released, police said. The video does not clearly depict that he was shot by Smith as described by media outlets the day of the shooting.

Milwaukee Police Association president Alex Ayala pushed back on public remarks by the family, saying the video shows Smith holding the gun with his finger on the trigger.

The Wauwatosa Police Department is the lead investigative agency in the shooting.