Trevontay Lee Jenkins was 16 when he was shot and killed by Des Moines police on December 26, 2022, after officers responded to a domestic dispute call. Police say Jenkins ran when they arrived, was armed, and pointed a gun at officers; three officers then fired after giving commands to drop the weapon. The Iowa Attorney General’s office later concluded the officers’ actions were legally justified.

Jenkins’ family disputes that account. His mother, Monica Woods, filed a federal lawsuit alleging he never pointed the gun at officers and calling for improved de-escalation training. The complaint, based in part on body camera footage that has not been released publicly, says Jenkins held but did not aim the gun and that he made references during the confrontation to a brother killed the month before and expressed a desire to die.

The case also had wider repercussions: prosecutors say online comments about Jenkins helped motivate a January 23 school shooting that killed Rashad Carr, 16, and Gionni Dameron, 18. Preston Walls was convicted in that attack; Bravon Tukes was acquitted of a murder charge accusing him of planning the attack and serving as the getaway driver.

Does anyone have direct knowledge of the December 26 encounter or the body camera footage mentioned in the lawsuit?