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The video first surfaced on social media late last week, according to the Hartford Courant. Giovanni Rivera, who the Courant identified as Negron's 24-year-old cousin, shared the one-minute video on his Twitter feed on Friday.
"This is a nightmare," Rivera tweeted. "Bridgeport PD told my family they shot Jayson in the head and was dead on scene this video clearly shows other wise."
Related story: Bridgeport teen died from gunshot wounds to the chest
The video appears to show Negron lying on the ground and handcuffed after he was shot by Bridgeport Police Officer James Boulay. Spectators can be heard saying, "They shot him." At one point the camera pans away from Negron, and when it turns back to him, his head is facing a different direction than before.
Police said that Negron was shot on Tuesday after he and a companion were found in a stolen car. According to police reports, when police boxed in the stolen vehicle that Negron was driving, he accelerated in reverse and hit at least one officer. One officer was nearly pulled under the car, according to police.
At that point, Boulay fired and hit Negron, police said. The passenger in the car was also evaluated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Boulay, a member of the department for five years, has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, police said.
The incident sparked outcries and protests last week. Some questioned why Negron's body was left uncovered on the ground and handcuffed for several hours.
Police Chief AJ Perez said that Negron had been pulled from the vehicle, handcuffed and placed on the ground, while officers tended to the passenger who was shot in the shoulder and transported to Bridgeport Hospital.
When it was determined he had died, police were bound by protocol to leave his body where it was, uncovered so as not to damage evidence, until the State Police and medical examiner’s representatives could attend to it, Perez said.
State Police have assumed the investigation. The Hartford Courant reported that the video has been turned over to state investigators.
The surfacing of the video also drew condemnation from the ACLU of Connecticut.
“The callous disregard that Bridgeport police officers showed for Jayson Negron during his last moments of life is unacceptable. Their behavior was outside the realms of human decency and democracy," the ACLU of Connecticut said in a statement.
"The City of Bridgeport must immediately act to create true accountability, transparency, and respect for human life in the Bridgeport Police Department. As a state, Connecticut must not make the mistake of believing that police excessive force and police accountability are simply Bridgeport problems, or pretend that racial disparities in policing do not exist."
The ACLU called on state legislators to act swiftly in enacting police reform legislation.
Negron will be buried this week. Calling hours will be Tuesday, May 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Funeraria Luz de Paz (Peaceful Light Funeral Home) 426 E. Washington Ave. in Bridgeport. Funeral services will be Wednesday, May 17, at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Park Cemetery, 620 Lindley St., Bridgeport.
Click here to read the Hartford Courant story.
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