Videotape shows shooting of airman- Buffalo News

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060201/1004368.asp
Videotape shows shooting of airman
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press
2/1/2006
CHINO, Calif. - A videotape released Tuesday shows a sheriff's deputy shooting an unarmed Air Force policeman who recently returned from Iraq as he appeared to obey an order to get up off the ground.
KTLA-TV broadcast a 40-second clip it said came from a Chino resident who videotaped Sunday night's shooting, which followed a 100 mph car chase.
Senior Airman Elio Carrion, 21, was listed in good condition in Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. He was shot three times in the chest, ribs and leg, his father-in-law, Ernesto Paz, told KTLA-TV.
Carrion was a passenger in a Corvette that crashed into a wall following the brief
chase, authorities said.
The dark, grainy videotape shows Carrion lying on the ground next to the car, talking to a silhouetted officer who is pointing a gun at him. Carrion supports himself on one arm and his face is brightly lit by the officer's flashlight.
Carrion is heard telling the officer he is unarmed and is in the military.
At one point, a voice is heard saying several times: "Get up."
Carrion says: "I'm gonna get up." As he rose, at least four shots were fired and Carrion collapsed.
Investigators from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department took the original tape, refusing to release it to the public or describe what it shows.
The deputy, whose name was not released, was placed on paid administrative leave, a routine procedure in officer-involved shootings.
Sheriff Gary Penrod said he could not comment until the investigation is completed.
Carrion was not charged with a crime, although the incident remained under investigation, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Robin Haynal.
The driver of the Corvette, identified by authorities as Luis Fernando Escobedo, 21, was arrested for investigation of felony evading.
Carrion and Escobedo had left a party at the home of Carrion's parents to drive to a store, said the airman's wife, Mariela.
Carrion was scheduled to report on Wednesday to his unit, the 2nd Security Forces Squadron, at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La.
An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Frank Hartnett, said Carrion was a security officer at the base. Carrion joined the Air Force in January 2003 and recently returned from a six-month tour in Iraq, Hartnett said.