Sheriff says more video will be released from Florida Mall shooting, but agency rejects requests
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said this week his office will release additional video of a deputy shooting a man in the back at the Florida Mall, even as the agency rejected a request by the Orlando Sentinel for all footage in the case.
“Any video that we have will be turned over to the family, will be available to the public because all the witnesses have been interviewed,” Mina said Monday during an Facebook interview with Orlando radio host Monica May.
Mina did not give a date for the release of the additional videos, including surveillance footage from the Florida Mall, but said his agency would “release them as soon as practical.” Asked if attorneys representing the family of 22-year-old Salaythis Melvin, who was killed by Deputy James Montiel, could expect the videos by Wednesday, Mina said he did not think that was “unreasonable.”
But the day after Mina’s interview, the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday denied a public records request from the Sentinel for surveillance camera footage from the mall’s parking lot, citing an exemption that protects the layout of security systems.
