Bodycam Shows Moment Police Fatally Shoot Bride's Uncle During Wedding

Body-camera footage recently released by police in Winter Park, Florida, shows an incident in which police fatally shot a guest at a wedding last month.

In Winter Park, police responded to a call about a disturbance on February 19, in which Daniel Knight, now identified as the bride's uncle, was allegedly "assaulting guests at the wedding reception," the police department stated the following morning.

The police bodycam footage, which was released on Wednesday and shared by local news source WESH, shows one of two police officers approaching a man and a woman outside of the Winter Park Events Center.

The officer can be heard telling the woman to "back up" repeatedly, while the man begins acting defensively. The scene appears to escalate, as witnesses can be heard yelling, "He's drunk! He's just drunk!" as well as "He doesn't have any weapons," and "He's not gonna hurt anybody."

As more people begin yelling and the video seems to become more chaotic, Knight can be seen throwing a punch at the first officer, who falls to the ground.

Police said in a statement previously sent to Newsweek that "one of the officers began speaking with the subject when the officer was physically attacked by the subject, leaving the officer unconscious and on the ground."

A second officer, whose bodycam footage is also shown in the video shared by WESH, attempts to restrain Knight and shouts, "Put your hands behind your back, now!"

Police said the suspect "physically attacked the second arriving officer, as the crowd began to surround the injured officers. During the physical altercation, the officer discharged his weapon."

A press release with additional information regarding the incident in February was released by Winter Park Police on Wednesday. In it, it stated that the second officer first "discharged his taser at the male subject, but it had no effect."

"From the ground, Officer 2 discharged his firearm as he was being attacked by the subject," the release added. "Winter Park Police rendered medical aid to the wounded subject."

Knight was taken to the hospital that night, where he died of the injury from the gunshot wound, police said.

The family of Knight has fought the justification of the incident, according to WESH. The bride at the wedding, Knight's niece, sent a statement to the news station on behalf of the entire family shortly after the incident, saying, "[Knight] was a kind gentle soul, and his only crime committed that night was drinking and having a good time with his family... This shooting was unjustified and we are working with a lawyer and the FDLE to get the entire truth out."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) told Newsweek, "Our Winter Park Police Department officer use of force investigation remains active. As with all of our use of force cases, we conduct a thorough investigation and then forward our findings to the State Attorney's Office."

The state attorney will later determine whether or not charges will be filed, the FDLE said.

Update (3/31, 4:57 p.m.): This story has been updated to include comment from FDLE.