Civil rights attorneys file public records complaint over Titusville officer-involved shooting

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Two prominent civil attorneys have a public records complaint regarding the police-involved shooting death of James Lowery.

Officers shot and killed him the day after Christmas.

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Titusville Police Chief John Lau promised Thursday to sit down with Lowery’s family once the investigation is complete. But, Lowery’s family is looking for answers now — and they went so far as to conduct a private autopsy.

On Thursday, their attorneys, Benjamin Crump and Natalie Jackson, said Lowery was shot from behind. There is police body camera footage of the shooting, but the family’s attorneys haven’t seen it.

READ: Family demands answers after deadly officer involved shooting in Titusville

Lowery was killed the day after Christmas shortly after Titusville police responded to a report of a woman being violently assaulted in a roadway in the area of South Deleon Avenue and Gibson Street. His family doesn’t believe Lowery was involved in that incident, but their attorneys say they haven’t had access to the 911 calls from the incident, body camera video, or any other public records.

“We sent three records requests asking the Titusville police to give us the public records according to Florida law — this is what we got 22 pages of blacked out, blanked records,” Jackson said.

READ: ‘We demand to know’: Family of man fatally shot by Titusville officer calls for transparency

In a Youtube update, Lau said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement immediately responded to the police involved-shooting, and that agency is currently conducting a thorough investigation into the use of deadly force.

“Because our agency is fully committed to being transparent, all of our officers are equipped with body cameras,” Lau said. “This incident was captured on body cam with both video and audio. The body cam in the case along with all other evidence will be released once the investigation has been completed.”

Crump and Jackson maintain there’s no reason that evidence shouldn’t be shared now.

Read: Man shot and killed after attacking officer in Titusville, police say

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