Family of man shot last year by New Castle County officer wants videos of killing released

On the one-year anniversary of his shooting death by a New Castle County police officer, the family of Andrew Edelmann demanded the release of all videos capturing the 2023 deadly incident and an explanation of what happened on March 6, 2023.

Joseph Marrone, the Philadelphia lawyer who is representing Edelmann's family in a federal lawsuit against New Castle County, said he'd been told by the Delaware Attorney General's Office that the investigation would be wrapped up in about six months. It's now been a year, and Marrone said the officer's name and videos of this event continue to be withheld.

"We have a big problem that a year goes by, an officer shoots someone and they haven't given any explanation," Marrone said. "So if they believe the officer acted properly, I'm sure they would have said something immediately. The fact they haven't said something in one year is disturbing, and we're asking for them to act as soon as possible."

More: New Castle County police officer conducting drug investigation shoots 2 people, 1 fatally

Edelmann, 22, and his friend Aida Pabon were shot while in a 7-Eleven parking lot near Elsmere. Edelmann died, while 22-year-old Pabon survived. Pabon, who was at a Wednesday press conference, said doctors placed a rod in her left leg where she was shot.

Shortly after the officer-involved shooting, New Castle County police met with Edelmann's family and lawyers to discuss the release of the body-worn camera footage, according to Sgt. Andrea Botterbusch, a police spokesperson.

"At that time, the decision was made, based upon conversations with Mr. Edelmann's family representatives, not to release the video," Botterbusch said. "We were unaware that the family's position had changed. The New Castle County Division of Police is prepared to release the body-worn camera footage, shown to Mr. Edelmann's family representatives in March 2023, pursuant to an official request by his family or family representatives."

Marrone acknowledged objecting to the release of the video he was shown last year because it was edited and he felt it did not represent what happened that night.

“I did not want them to put out the so-called edited montage that they created, put a spin on it, as if this officer may have done something proper," Marrone said. "All I want is the truth and I want all the videos to be turned over so we can have our people look at them, so the public can look at them in their entirety and make their own decision.

“If they're being held because there's a criminal investigation, we respect that, but it doesn't take 12 months to make a decision as to whether or not you're going to indict an officer for killing someone."

Botterbusch said all unredacted video will be released with the report generated by the Delaware Department of Justice's Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust at the conclusion of its investigation.

Mat Marshall, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice, said the division continues its investigation into the deadly matter. Marshall added the division had experienced significant turnover last year that had an impact on how quickly the division was able to move on investigations.

"The team is back to full staff now and has nearly cleared its backlog," he said.

Details differ in 7-Eleven police shooting

County police have said one of its officers had information that Edelmann was going to deliver a "quantity of illegal drugs" near Maryland and East Reamer avenues about 7:30 p.m. on March 6, 2023.

Officers also knew Edelmann drove a Hyundai Santa Fe, which they found in a 7-Eleven parking lot on Maryland Avenue. County police tried to detain Edelmann as part of the drug investigation, but he "ignored their commands" and tried to escape, police said a day after the shooting.

Edelmann then sped up his car, driving it in the direction of the officers. When this happened, police said, a nearby officer fired his gun, hitting Edelmann and Pabon, who was in the passenger seat.

Marrone told reporters gathered at the home of Edelmann's family Wednesday morning, that they are not questioning that police were investigating a narcotics transaction.

"We're not questioning that," he said. "We're questioning the officer's actions."

More: 2 months after he was fatally shot by police, his family is suing New Castle County

According to their federal lawsuit filed in May, a police officer in plainclothes approached Pabon and Edelmann with a pistol drawn. Pabon said in the lawsuit that the officer could see her friend was not pointing anything at the officer or making any "threatening movements or gestures."

The officer did not tell Pabon or Edelmann he was going to use deadly force, according to the lawsuit, and then fired his weapon "suddenly and without any warning, justification or provocation."

The car, which court documents claim was idling, then began to move on its own — after Edelmann was shot.

"It's our contention that he shot directly into the vehicle before the vehicle moved," Marrone said.

Transparency

New Castle County police have released body-cam video before the Department of Justice published its findings. But that has come at the direction of County Executive Mat Meyer.

Two months after 30-year-old Lymond Moses was fatally shot on Jan. 13, 2021, by New Castle County police officers, Meyer ordered the videos released — against the advice of then-Police Chief Col. Vaughn Bond Jr.

This was the first time the county had released such a video. The state Attorney General's Office has released body camera footage, but only after its investigation into a police shooting is complete.

More: Decision to release body cam footage ignites debate; here's why activists say it's important

A Meyer spokesperson said they are reviewing to see if a formal request had been made to release the video concerning Edelmann's case. In a March 2021 statement that provided the footage of Moses' fatal shooting, Meyer said releasing the video was "in the public interest."

That's what Edelmann's family is saying releasing videos would do.

"The public should know about it," Marrone said. "The public relies heavily on the Police Department for their safety. So they need to know that the Police Department is transparent, is acting appropriately and if something does go wrong, or if an officer does do something that is inappropriate or criminal, he should be held accountable."

Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Family demands police-involved shooting video released on anniversary