Newly released video footage shows San Bernardino County, Ca., sheriff's deputies opening fire at an unarmed 15-year-old girl who was a reported kidnapping victim, reports The Guardian. They were tasked with finding Savannah Graziano in September 2022, who was feared to be abducted by her father, Anthony, after he shot her mother. The deputies surrounded Graziano's vehicle on the side of the freeway, and killed Savannnah Graziano once she exited the car to follow police instructions. Sheriff's officials said it was unclear whether she was shot by her father or the deputies, and refused to release the footage for two years.
However, the video suggest deputies shot her after two officers remarked that it was the girl who exited. The footage, and the sheriff’s narration of the video, further make clear she was killed by deputies, not her father. The deputies were not wearing body cameras, but the department shared audio from the belt of the deputy standing closest to the girl. The sheriff’s statement describing that audio said: “You can hear [a deputy] calling her over and telling other deputies that the person who exited the truck was the passenger and for them to stop firing, but it was too late.” The California Department of Justice is investigating the case under a law requiring inquiries into police killings of unarmed people. Officials have not named the involved officers. The footage puts more pressure on an already embattled department that was shown on video opening fire on an autistic 15-year-old boy last month and punching and kneeing a man under arrest.