New video shows the moments before police shoot, kill suspect after chase into Pennsylvania
New video obtained by KDKA-TV shows the moment police shot and killed a man who they say had stolen a police car and led them on a chase from Ohio into Pennsylvania.
In the video, two troopers can be seen attempting to place the man into custody after the chase on April 4. The man was fighting with the officers at the moment before the shot was fired. The man was later identified as 30-year-old Deshawn Dante Leeth of Michigan.
Trucker Marcus Washington was across the highway when he saw the stolen cruiser roll down a hill and flip over. He remembers what the man said as police were trying to detain him.
"He's kind of angry and disoriented, you know, and he's like, 'Get off of me,' you know, and he pushed him back. I see his arms up, pushing him back off of him," Washington said.
One officer appeared to be holding on to the man when the other officer shot him from a few feet away.
"That's unnecessary," Washington said. "You could use a taser. You could use your other handgun if the guy is still coming at you to get your weapon. That is, you know, understandable."
The cruiser was driven from Ohio. That's where police say the man crashed his car after a chase, stole the trooper's car, then took off into Pennsylvania before crashing.
"Something is mentally wrong with him," Washington said.
It's the same man Washington saw die on the side of the road.
"But you know my feelings? I don't have any. I'm desensitized," he said.
He grew up, he said, in a "rough" neighborhood and explained he's been in the suspect's shoes. He said Los Angeles police shot him with a rubber bullet after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA title in 2020.
"They shoot me from the back, you know, walking back to my apartment," Washington said.
Pennsylvania State Police are still investigating the crash and shooting.
