Kadir Skinner Body Camera Footage Released As Family Demands Officer’s Firing

Teenager Kadir Skinner is now the center of a fierce debate over police accountability after Delaware officials released body worn camera footage from the fatal Wilmington police shooting. The 19-year-old’s family attorneys argued the videos contradict key parts of the police narrative.

The Delaware Department of Justice released body camera recordings from three Wilmington police officers involved in the June 24 shooting, describing the disclosure as “a matter of public interest.”

Officials said the officers will remain unidentified until the independent investigation concludes. The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. near 24th and Jessup streets in Wilmington.

At the time of the incident, officers monitoring a gathering maintain they saw Skinner leave a residence with a handgun and point it toward the crowd. Police said officers approached him, prompting Skinner to run. During the foot pursuit, an officer fired at least one shot, striking Skinner. Authorities later said a loaded handgun was recovered nearby and that is part of the issue with community leaders.

“I don’t got nothing,” Skinner says several times after being asked if he’s armed.

The newly released footage captures portions of the chase and its aftermath.

One officer’s body cam shows an officer pursuing Skinner before gunfire erupts. During the encounter, the officer repeatedly orders Skinner to drop a gun while Skinner insists he is unarmed.

As officers handcuff Skinner while he lies face down in the street, another officer is heard saying Skinner threw the firearm. A separate body camera later captures an officer announcing, “Firearm’s recovered,” before unloading a handgun and securing it inside a police vehicle.

No gun is visible on Skinner. The footage does not show a gun in Skinner’s hands or on his person during the pursuit, the shooting, or while he was being handcuffed on the ground. 

Skinner repeatedly tells officers, “I can’t breathe.”

One officer asks whether he has been shot.

“I don’t know,” Skinner responds before continuing to say he cannot breathe.

Another officer confirms Skinner suffered a gunshot wound and requests emergency medical assistance.

“We need medical,” the officer says on the footage.

Roughly five minutes into the recording, the officer believed to have fired the shots says, “I just shot him.”

Skinner was transported to a hospital where he later died.

Chandra Pitts, an activist, business owner and philanthropist, objected to the way Skinner was treated. She reviewed the footage of all cameras as they were made available today.

“I challenge anyone who has found a reason not to feel anything for the human life that was taken without hesitation, judge nor jury to ask themselves this one question: What did you see in that video that warranted the death penalty being imposed on that 19-year-old boy?”

Ben Crump, Harry Daniels and Chance Lynch said they had reviewed the footage and argued it does not support police claims that Skinner pointed a weapon at a crowd before the shooting.

“We have not seen a crowd. We have not seen him have possession of a gun. We have not seen him wave a gun at anyone,” Lynch said before Thursday’s release of the videos.

Lynch also contended the footage shows Skinner running from a neighborhood dog rather than fleeing police. Police have not addressed that claim publicly.

Earlier this week, attorneys for Skinner’s family released separate cellphone video recorded immediately after the shooting. The footage shows Skinner lying wounded in the street as officers restrain him while bystanders plead with police to provide medical aid.

“He’s shot, why you on him like that? See if he’s OK,” one person shouts.

At another point, voices in the crowd repeatedly yell, “He’s dying! He’s dying! He’s dying!”

The videos, because of the heinous nature, are not readily available. They are on various news platforms in a constrained way to protect younger or sensitive viewers. All videos are below.

The videos appear to show Skinner remaining on the ground for more than two minutes before officers carry him to a patrol vehicle for transport to the hospital. Lynch questioned whether officers acted quickly enough to provide medical care following the shooting.

“What we saw in that video is we saw young Kadir Skinner fighting for his life,” Lynch said. “While he had already been shot, handcuffed with a knee on his back. This is what we see on the video, and the video footage does not lie.”

Following the video’s release, Skinner’s family, community leaders and their legal team held a news conference at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington, where Daniels and Lynch called for the officer who fired the fatal shot to be terminated.

Officials have said two investigations remain active. Wilmington Police are conducting criminal and internal policy reviews through the department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Professional Standards, while the Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust is carrying out an independent investigation. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave, consistent with department policy.

Pitts told AllHipHop it is time for swift movement from the community, government and civic leaders.

“As leaders, it’s important that we come together to work through a course of action on next steps immediately and for Justice and preventative policy in the long-term,” she said.

In a joint statement, Gov. Matt Meyer, Attorney General Kathy Jennings and Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos emphasized that body camera footage represents only part of the evidence.

“While body cameras are an important and necessary tool for transparency between law enforcement and the community, they have limitations, and this footage does not capture the totality of the incident.

We remain committed to a thorough and complete independent investigation by the DOJ and the internal investigation by WPD,” the statement said.

As investigators continue reviewing the shooting, the newly released videos are likely to intensify scrutiny over both the use of deadly force and officers’ actions in the critical minutes that followed.

“Watching this footage left me outraged,” Pitts said. “As a mother, auntie, big sister, friend, cousin, as a human being – what unfolded in front of those cameras was unimaginably painful to watch. The egregious violence imposed upon that young man until his very last breath was inhumane.”

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