‘Release the video’: Ben Crump & family of man shot, killed at Orlando traffic stop seek answers

ORLANDO, Fla. — The family of the 26-year-old man shot and killed by an Orlando Police officer is speaking out.

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Derek Diaz’s family and attorney Ben Crump spoke at a press conference on Saturday at an Orlando law firm.

Crump and the Diaz family had tears in their eyes as they pleaded for the Orlando Police Department to release the body camera footage from the incident.

“No answers are being given to us, and we need it,” Tacoria Rutlan, Diaz’s girlfriend, said. “It’s not fair. We can’t eat; we can’t sleep.”

Read: Ben Crump, family of man shot, killed by police during traffic stop call for answers

Their cries for transparency come after the early morning shooting Monday.

“The family doesn’t know anything beyond that,” Crump said. “It is heartbreaking.”

The Orlando Police Department said that while doing proactive patrols, officers approached Diaz on Jefferson Street and North Orange Avenue.

Read: Police identify man killed in downtown Orlando officer-involved shooting

Chief Eric Smith said that was when Diaz stopped cooperating and made a movement as if to grab a gun.

Diaz was shot and later died at the hospital.

Smith said officers did not find a weapon with Diaz and per policy, bodycam video would be made available to the public within 30 days.

But days without answers have led to confusion for Diaz’s mother, Yaneri Diaz Rodriguez.

“I want to know what happened,” she said. “We have the right to know.”

And the family does not have answers for Diaz’s 5-year-old daughter.

Read: Ben Crump to represent family of man shot by police during traffic stop

“My daughter, she keeps asking for her dad,” Sonja Nava, the daughter’s mother, said. “And I don’t know what to tell her. We just want answers.”

Crump said the police department needs to give those answers to the grieving family.

“Our principles are liberty and justice for all,” Crump said. “That means justice for Derek Diaz too. That’s why we need to see the video.”

The family said they would not let Diaz be forgotten and won’t rest until they have answers.

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