CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – Two days after a woman was shot and killed as Camden County deputies were serving a drug-related search warrant at a home, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released footage from a deputy-worn body camera.
According to the GBI, law enforcement knocked and announced themselves before making entry to the residence and that an exchange of gunfire followed.
The footage released Thursday evening, the GBI said, is 3-minutes and 16-seconds of a total 3-hours and 43 minutes worth of footage from a deputy’s camera.
“Sheriff’s office! Search warrant! Come to the door!” a deputy can be heard yelling in the video released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Seconds after, deputies made entry into the home.
“Sheriff’s office, search warrant,” can be heard, again, as deputies work their way inside.
“Get on the ground!” two deputies yell.
A series of gunshots are heard, however, the footage is dark and not much is visible as the deputy appears to be holding a shield.
(Viewer discretion advised. The following video contains explicit language and content that some may find graphic.)
“Got one down! Two down!” a deputy yells out.
The team spends about a minute-and-a-half searching through the house.
“Did I get hit in my leg?” a deputy is heard questioning.
Notably, the GBI originally reported that no deputies were injured.
At about the 3:00 mark of the video, a deputy is heard saying “He had a gun in his hand, pointed.”
The occupants of the home were identified as Latoya James, 37, who was shot and died at the scene. VarShaun Brown, 46, was shot and hospitalized for treatment. On Wednesday, the family told News4Jax he had undergone two surgeries and remained in a hospital.
Pastor Mack Knight, a family member of Brown’s, looked at the video and spoke with News4Jax. He felt the video provides no clarity about what happened.
“I don’t think that was so much of a search warrant as much as it was a raid. What I saw look like a raid,” Knight said. “It was three quick knocks and then they bust the door open.”
Knight said the bodycam footage leaves still leaves the family with unanswered questions.
The GBI said it will conduct an independent investigation. When completed, it will be turned over to the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.