DeCynthia Clements tragically died after police officer Lieutenant Christian Jensen shot her during a traffic stop in Elgin, Illinois.
On Thursday, Elgin police released an 18-minute video summary of the stop and the shooting, edited down from over 30 hours of footage taken from various police car and police body cameras. Jensen was placed on leave and is currently under investigation.
Clements' family was shown the the footage before it was distributed to the public, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“This situation did not have to escalate to such a degree that cost a young woman her life," said family attorneys Antonio Romanucci and Andrew Stroth. "We move forward with this lawsuit, those responsible for DeCynthia’s death must be held accountable."
Stroth added, “This tragedy presents a prime case to push for more intensive training for officers to recognize situations that call for appropriate de-escalation techniques when the use of deadly force is not necessary."
City leaders such as Mayor Dave Kaptain also viewed the footage before it was released to the public.
“I’m deeply disturbed by what I saw on the video, and have some serious questions about how this was handled, particularly the last few seconds of the situation,” said City Council member Tish Powell.
“I think the Elgin Police Department did everything they could right, until shots were fired by one officer. I don’t think shots needed to be fired,” noted Elgin City Council member Corey Dixon. Dixon added that given Clements' reported mental health struggles, something less intense such as tasers or rubber bullets could've been used.
“My condolences go out to Decynthia Clements’ family and friends. This didn’t need to happen, and what did took an unfortunate turn for the worst,” Dixon continued.
You can view the complete video summary below. Please note that the images within the video are highly disturbing.