Authorities obscured the last 4 seconds of Christian Hall’s life in publicly released videos. New footage shows he had his hands up when troopers killed him.
What happened Dec. 30
Troopers blocked off the overpass and asked Hall to talk to them.
One of the troopers on scene had been a crisis negotiator for 15 years; another had been a crisis intervention specialist and had a master’s degree in counseling and clinical health psychology. The highest-ranking trooper was a corporal with more than 20 years of experience.
Video from the State Police shows the troopers trying to coax Hall from the ledge until they see he has a gun in his hand. The troopers backed away, but tried to persuade him to leave the gun on the bridge and walk to them.
At one point, Hall put the gun down and smoked marijuana. The troopers talked to him for about 90 minutes.
In the final 22 seconds before Hall was shot, he shuffled toward the troopers with the pellet gun in one hand, arms at his sides. Huddled behind their vehicles about 70 feet away, troopers again told him to drop the gun.
The video shows Hall raising his hands after a corporal fired the initial shots, which missed him. Hall first raised his hands to his sides, then above his head, holding the gun in one hand, the video shows.
“If he doesn’t drop it just take him,” a voice can be heard saying on the video.
Hall’s hands stayed above his head as the corporal and another trooper fired several more shots. Hall was struck, clutched his stomach, and fell to the ground.
While the video does not appear to show Hall pointing the gun directly at troopers before he was shot, the accounts by State Police and the DA’s office are inconsistent on this point.
Three use-of-force experts who reviewed the videos for Spotlight PA and NBC News were divided on whether the troopers were right to shoot, but all said independent reviews are superior because they increase public faith in the process
.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christian-hall-pennsylvania-police-shooting-video-rcna5626