Attorneys and supporters of Christopher Shaw call for the body camera footage on the night Shaw was paralyzed while in the Jefferson County jail to be released publicly on Aug. 18, 2022 at The Church of I Am in Beaumont.
Matt Hollinshead/Beaumont Enterprise
Beaumont Enterprise
Courtney Pedersen, Staff writer
For over a year, attorneys and supporters of Christopher Shaw have been pushing for the public release of body camera footage allegedly showing the Beaumont man being paralyzed while in custody at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
Recently, these calls for the video's release have been a weekly occurrence at Beaumont City Council meetings.
"The world (has) a right to see that audiotape of how Mr. Christopher Show had this happen to him," Beaumont resident Ricky Jason said during public comment at Tuesday's meeting. "He got paralyzed ... He can't even walk. We want to see the audiotape, Mayor."
Shaw alleges that Beaumont Police Officer James Gillen on June 12, 2021 paralyzed him while in police custody, The Enterprise previously reported.
The video of the June 12, 2021, incident allegedly shows Gillen throw Shaw to the ground during an altercation, where multiple portions of Shaw’s neck were broken after he landed on his head.
During Tuesday's meeting, City of Beaumont Attorney Sharae Reed said the city does not have the authority to release the video.
"The city of Beaumont does not own or operate a jail facility. So, we don't have access to their jail footage," Reed said. "The city cannot release something that we don't have in our possession."
Reed said there is a process for release of videos that are connected to ongoing criminal or civil cases, both are the case with the video.
"When those requests are made, we either seek opinions from the court or the attorney general," Reed said. "In this case, both were done. It was decided by the attorney general that those tapes should be withheld to allow the individual to have a fair and impartial trial."
Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens confirmed Friday that the attorney general recommended against releasing the footage.
"Within the confines of our legal advice of my attorneys, we have been as transparent as the law will allow in terms of late," Stephens said. "His defense team, his family, all those people have seen the video. But I'm bound by some legal guidelines because it is evidence right now in a criminal prosecution, and so it can't be released to the public."
The pre-trial conference for Shaw's felony assault on a police officer case is set for Aug. 14 with the trial scheduled to begin Aug. 21 at the Jefferson County 252nd District Court.