Florida sheriff releases dash cam video in deputy shooting of two teens as families plan rally

MELBOURNE, Fla. – After days of mounting pressure from community leaders, elected officials and others, a Florida sheriff released a dashcam video showing the deputy-involved shooting of two teens.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey released the video Tuesday evening and also identified the name of the officers who carried out the shooting as Deputies Jafet Santiago-Miranda and Carson Hendren. Both were placed on administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the case.

"What we know to date is that on Friday morning two of our deputies were attempting to conduct a follow-up investigation on what they believed was a possible stolen car that had just recently fled from another deputy in the Cocoa area," Ivey said in a news release posted to Facebook.

"While there are many other forthcoming details and evidence concerning this tragic incident, such as the recovery of two firearms from the vehicle, the case is currently an active and ongoing investigation being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who anticipates that the investigative findings will be presented to the State Attorney’s Office for review within the next 60-90 days," Ivey said in the release.

Community activists planned to gather in Cocoa Wednesday afternoon to draw attention to what they said has been a lack of transparency and accountability from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office in last week's fatal shooting of two teens.

Some of those attending the protest were expected to focus on the lack of information from law enforcement to the parents of the teens – a 16-and 18-year-old – and to the public about the investigation during the first 72 hours following the shooting.

"It's to bring awareness and to highlight (police) brutality in our community and to allow the public to know that there’s a chronic illness that continues to plague our neighborhood and we want to eradicate it," said Robert Johnson, a longtime civil rights leader and proponent of law enforcement reform.

“It’s a disrespect for Black lives. How do you not tell a mother about what's happened to her child? We're crying out. That's why we're on the corner with this rally," Johnson said, speaking before the release of Ivey's statement.

The case has caught the attention of Benjamin Crump, a high-profile civil rights attorney who announced on social media late Monday that he now represents the families in the deaths of the two teens, Sincere Pierce, 18, and A.J. Crooms, 16. It was not immediately known if Crump – who in recent years has spearheaded a number of wrongful death cases against police departments across the nation – will attend the rally.

He did not return phone calls Tuesday seeking comment.

Days after the deaths of the two teens and before Ivey's release of the video, family members were in mourning and still looking for answers .

Cynthia Byrd-Green, an aunt who raised Sincere Pierce since he was 3 days old and calls him her son, said Tuesday afternoon she was frustrated with the process and the lack of details surrounding the case. She said she believes the shooting was the result of mistaken identity and that deputies were searching for a different car.

The family has seen an outpouring of support from the community, with neighbors dropping off meals and sending cards, she said.

"I don't really know all of them, but I love my neighbors. They showed me that neighbors can be neighbors," Byrd-Green said.

Rally seeks justice

The rally is expected to start at 4 p.m. Wednesday at one of the busiest traffic intersections in Cocoa.

Johnson said he is expecting at least 100 people to turn out, including other civil rights leaders, family, and members of the Black Lives Matter movement. He also plans to invite area law enforcement agencies.

Here is what is known about the shooting: It happened at about 10:30 a.m. Friday. The dashcam video shows two patrol cars following the vehicle driven by the 16-year-old.

The Sheriff's Office news release noted deputies were investigating an earlier incident in which a vehicle fled from an attempted traffic stop at another location. It said a vehicle was observed in the area of Stetson and Ivy drives in Cocoa, where deputies attempted to make contact with the occupants.

Both Deputies Santiago-Miranda and Hendren had stepped out of their vehicles as the car driven by the teens pulled into a driveway before reversing and backing out. On the audio released, deputies repeated seven commands for the teen driver to stop the car.

Crooms then turns and appears to drive the vehicle toward Deputy Santiago-Miranda who fired his gun into the front of the car and driver's side. Ivey said the gunfire was in response to an attempt "to stop the deadly threat of the car from crashing into him."

Witnesses in the neighborhood reported that bullets pocked the front of the gray sedan the two boys were in, including the windshield and the driver's side door. The video shows the car rolled into the wall of a nearby home. The wheels spun until the two unresponsive men were out of the car.

Cocoa police volunteers repaired the wall of the home struck by the car.

Autopsies on the pair – delayed because of COVID testing – were expected later this week with sheriff's and FDLE agents attending at the medical examiner's office in Rockledge.

Ivey said agents had talked with the third, unidentified teen in the car who told them the commands to stop the car were audible.

Neither deputy's personnel files have been released.

A number of questions remain, including how many times the teens were shot and whether the car was stolen. .

"I ask that you keep the family of the two young men in your thoughts and prayers and also our deputies, as an incident of this magnitude impacts everyone, including our entire community," Ivey wrote on Facebook.

Contributing: Tyler Vazquez, Florida Today

Follow J.D. Gallop on Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida sheriff releases dash cam video in fatal shooting of two teens