WINTER PARK, Fla. – Winter Park police released the body-camera video Wednesday from two officers involved in a deadly shooting at a wedding reception in February.
The video shows the events leading up to and in the aftermath of the shooting death of Daniel Patrick Knight, 39, on Feb. 19.
The video picks up as two officers arrived on the scene of the Winter Park Events Center. Police said they had received a 911 call saying a man was “grabbing an older woman and shoving her.”
The video from the first officer to arrive can be seen in the media player below. A word of warning, the video may be disturbing to some people and viewer discretion is advised.
Knight’s family claims the person who called 911 was working at the event.
As the audio picks up about 30 seconds into the video, event staff can be heard saying “He’s getting pretty violent.”
“Where’s he at?” the officer asked in the video.
“Right by the lake right there. He’s yelling,” the woman responded as shouting can be heard in the distance.
As the officer arrives, the video shows Knight standing with two women.
“He’s OK, he’s OK,” one woman said. “He’s our brother.”
“Man, that (expletive) ain’t got nothing to do with me,” Knight said about 56 seconds into the video.
See New 6′s previous coverage in the media player below:
“Man, shut up,” Knight said to the officer.
At this point, the second officer arrived on scene. Both officers begin ordering the women to step away from Knight.
“He doesn’t have any weapons. Stop it,” one of the women said in response to the command to back away.
At about 1:16 into the video, the officer grabs the woman by the arm and tries to pull her away from Knight.
“Don’t you snatch my mother(expletive) sister,” Knight said.
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The man shoves the officer as the woman tries to get between the two men.
At this point, a red dot can be seen on Knight in the video as the second officer has drawn his Taser.
Around 1:30 into the video, other wedding guests start coming outside trying to separate the officers and Knight.
“What’s up man, talk to me,” someone can be heard saying, though it is unclear who is talking.
At 1:48 in the video, Knight can be seen taking a swing at the officer, who then goes to the ground. Less than 10 seconds later, multiple shots can be heard off-camera.
The officer who was knocked out then takes roughly a minute to get back to his feet, according to the video.
At this point in the video, other officers have arrived on scene. The first officer is led back to a cruiser to be checked out but can be heard on the video insisting on returning to the shooting scene to assist with crowd control.
The second officer’s body-camera video can be viewed in the media player below. A word of warning, the video may be disturbing to some people and viewer discretion is advised.
In the second officer’s video, the officer can be heard announcing that he has drawn his Taser around 1:15 seconds into the video.
Around 1:40 second into this video, the second officer appears to be trying to get two women to step back as they are standing between him and Knight.
“He’s just drunk,” a woman can be heard shouting at the officer in the video.
Around 1:42 in the video, Knight can be seen punching the first officer, who goes straight to the ground. Seconds later, the second officer goes to the ground.
The officer around 1:51 into the video, the second officer opens fire while he is on the ground shooting at Knight multiple times. News 6 has decided not to show this graphic portion of the video and it has been edited out of the media player above.
About 4:30 into the video, several people, guests and police officers, can be seen performing chest compressions on Knight.
“I’ve got your back if you need help. I’m an ICU nurse,” a guest can be heard saying in the video.
Knight ultimately did not survive the shooting.
The officers were taken to a hospital to be checked, according to police, and the officer who shot Knight was placed on administrative duty.
The family released the statement below about Knight and the incident.
“He was a kind, gentle soul. His only crime that night was drinking and having a good time with his family. He is not a drinker and works 16-hour shifts nearly everyday to support his family. His niece’s wedding was the first day he was able to come out and celebrate in a long time. This shooting was unjustified and we are working with a lawyer and the FDLE to get the entire truth out.”
The family has retained the Morgan & Morgan law firm to represent them as the case moves forward.
The law firm released a statement Wednesday to News 6. It reads:
“39 days ago, Daniel Knight went to a family wedding to celebrate the marriage of his niece. He never made it home. Today police – more than a month after his unnecessary death – finally released video of the incident. The only thing the video establishes is that Daniel Knight did not deserve to die; his family continues to mourn his death and we will fight for justice on their behalf.”
The shooting is currently being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. News 6 reached out to FDLE for an update on the investigation.
“Our case is active. We have no additional information to provide currently,” an FDLE spokesperson said in a statement.
You can read Winter Park’s use of force policy for police officers in the documents below:
Winter Park PD Standard Operating Procedure by Sam Dunne on Scribd