New evidence has emerged that sheds new light on the investigation into the death of former South African rugby player, Lindani Myeni, in Hawaii in April.
According to News24, Myeni’s family lawyer, Bridget Morgan-Bickerton, said that the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) had received and reviewed the Ring Video Doorbell recordings of the night that Myeni was killed.
“They show a very different story from the one [the] HPD has disseminated to the public. [The] HPD fought the release of these recordings and even tried to block Myeni’s widow, Lindsay, from subpoenaing the videos directly from the owner of 91 Coelho Way [where the shooting occurred].
“HPD has tried to convince the public that this was a burglary and that Myeni was acting erratically, but the doorbell video we have now obtained from the owner shows that HPD knew all along these stories were untrue,” she said.
News24 reports that Myeni was shot dead by Honolulu police who claimed that they were responding to a 911 burglary call.
Myeni’s wife, Lindsay however, alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit that police were motivated by racial discrimination against an unarmed black man.
Yet, according to Morgan-Bickerton, the footage confirms that Myeni was visiting a temple in the area.
“The owner confirmed that on more than one occasion in the past, visitors have mistaken his property for the temple…” she added.
The video shows a couple entering the building, followed by Myeni wearing his traditional ceremonial Zulu headband, which is something he would wear to visit a spiritual place. He introduces himself which can faintly be heard, TimesLive reports.
“We have just received the full, unredacted body cam footage for the time following the shooting and are still processing it. However, we are fortunate to have the recordings linked here. Now, with modern recording technology, doorbell videos and body cams, the public can see what has been going [on], and we can all hope that this technology will help bring such police conduct to an end,” Morgan-Bickerton stated.
The bodycam footage also brought to light clear audio that the police did not announce themselves until after Myeni had been shot multiple times.
The United States embassy in Pretoria says it is monitoring the investigation, News24 writes.
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