RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Police will release body camera video of the fatal May 14 officer-involved shooting of Marcus Peters. Richmond Police Officer Michael Nyantakyi shot Peters, who was unarmed and naked at the time, during a bizarre incident on Interstate 95 in downtown Richmond.
In addition to Friday's planned video release, Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham will provide an update on the investigation into the shooting.
Peters, a 24-year-old high school biology teacher, was shot and killed after police said did not heed verbal commands and charged at Officer Nyantakyi - who moments earlier used a Taser to subdue Peters.
Peters' family viewed the body camera video Wednesday
His family members said the video proved Peters needed help.
"Our stance has not changed, Marcus did not deserve to be killed, Marcus deserved help," his sister Princess Blanding said. "He was very clearly in distress, major distress and he needed help, not death."
The Day Marcus Peters Was Shot
Blanding said her brother taught biology at Essex High School where she works as an administrator.
"I was looking for him at the end of the day, and I couldn't find him, and I went up to his room multiple times, and he wasn't there," Blanding said.
She said she believed he left the school around 4 p.m. and went to the home he shared with his girlfriend.
"She did say that he had come home briefly, they had spoken, greeted each other and he told her he needed to go to The Jefferson. He was due to come back home to return a textbook," Blanding said.
The girlfriend told CBS 6 reporter Melissa Hipolit that Peters told her he loved her and would be back, he just needed to talk to a co-worker at The Jefferson Hotel, where he worked security on weekends.
"Nobody has told us what has transpired during the time he was at The Jefferson Hotel. There's a lot of unanswered questions and missing puzzle pieces that we will continue to fight for," Blanding said.
Sources told CBS 6 Peters arrived at The Jefferson without a shirt and was acting strange.
They said police were called, but before officers arrived Peters left the hotel, took off his clothes, got in his car, and drove off.
Peters was then observed driving a sedan that struck another vehicle at the intersection of W. Franklin and N. Belvidere Streets, according to the Richmond Police Department.
Peters fled the scene in his vehicle, and a Richmond Police officer pursued Peters north and onto the I-95 on-ramp, police said.
Peters lost control of his vehicle after he struck two other vehicles on the on-ramp, police added, then emerged from his disabled vehicle, and ran into the northbound lanes of I-95. He was not wearing any clothes, according to police.
Peters ran back towards the on-ramp and charged the Richmond Police officer, who deployed his Taser in an effort to disable Peters, police said.
It proved ineffective, so the officer fired his service weapon, striking Peters.
Peters was transported to the hospital where he later died.
“We are all deeply affected by what happened here – by the loss of life,” Richmond Police Alfred Chief Durham said following the shooting. “Our officers do not take the use of deadly force lightly. I think it’s important to remember that being naked does not remove a threat. So far, the eyewitness accounts we’ve heard have been consistent: our officer tried using verbal commands, then used non-lethal force first by deploying his Taser before using his service weapon.”
