Body camera video shows man fatally shot by Buffalo police who fled as officer held on to car

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Police Department released body camera footage Thursday of the fatal shooting of a man by an officer early Wednesday morning on Kensington Avenue.

You can view a condensed version of the body camera footage below, courtesy of Buffalo Police.

“I think the other night the use of force was justified,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said at a news conference Thursday. “Given that the officer was in a situation of serious risk of serious physical injury or death, that level of force is justified by the law and I think it’s a justified use of force in this case.”

Officer Ronald Ammerman shot and killed Daevon Roberts, 25, after he was pulled over, initially for speeding and tinted windows. There was also a 6-year-old child sitting in the passenger seat of the car, who was not wearing a seat belt.

In the video, Roberts was asked for identification. When he told officers he didn’t have one, he showed a photo of a Georgia driver’s license on his phone, but the officer ran a search and discovered the license in the photo was invalid. Roberts said the car he was driving belonged to his sister and that he was stopped to tint windows “every day.”

The video appears to show the officer opening the vehicle door before Roberts fled with the officer’s arm on the roof of the car and one leg in the door frame. The vehicle sped off and Officer Ammerman can be heard begging Roberts to stop, saying, “You’re going to kill me, bro.” The speedometer in the video appears to indicate the car was traveling over 60 mph, then slowed down, where it appears Roberts kicked Ammerman, who fired several rounds and hit Roberts, as both fell from the car. Body camera footage shows the car traveling at least three blocks in the span of about 20 seconds before coming to a stop.

Ammerman then ran to the car and pulled out the 6-year-old, who was unharmed. Roberts said in the video that the child was his cousin, later claiming it was his nephew.

Roberts was transported to ECMC, where he was pronounced dead. A search of the vehicle was conducted, which resulted in the discovery of a loaded gun with seven bullets located under the driver’s seat.

“These situations don’t happen in a classroom, they don’t happen in a training facility,” Gramaglia said. “This is real life, there’s not a lot of control over how some of these situations play out. We can train for different situations, but when it happens in real life, when there are real situations, they always play out differently than they do in a training facility.”

Four WIVB News sources confirmed Wednesday that Roberts is the half-brother of Jaylen Griffin, the 12-year-old boy whose body was found in a South Buffalo home in April after he went missing in August 2020. Roberts mentioned during the stop that Griffin was his brother.

Later in April, Roberts was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal mischief in connection with an alleged shooting incident at a memorial for Griffin at Central Terminal. He was held without bail until the charges were changed to first-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon when he was indicted in June. He was released on probation at that time.

“It’s a very sad situation in every way. This family has been through a lot in recent years,” Gramaglia said.

Ammerman, who has been with the department for seven and a half years, and the other officer on scene, Officer Jonathan Crawford, have both been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.

“They’re going to need time to digest this situation,” Gramaglia said. “You can’t just go back to work the day after a situation like that.”

Buffalo Homicide Squad investigators and the Internal Affairs Division are currently conducting separate investigations, in accordance with department procedure. Additionally, the New York State Attorney General’s Office is the lead prosecuting agency in this case.

This is the second fatal police-involved shooting in Buffalo this year. In February, officers shot and killed a man on Reed Street after he allegedly called 911 in revenge.

You can watch the full press conference from Thursday in the media player below.