Petition demanding justice for man shot by deputy, as family questions whether it was justified

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - As new details emerge in the shooting of a man by an Orange County deputy, there is an uproar over the incident that took the life of the 22-year-old man. 

A Change.org petition quickly gathered more than 2,600 signatures demanding deputies release the deputy’s body-worn camera video. 

“It’s important to know whether it was justified. You shouldn’t have law enforcement officers shooting someone in the back,” said attorney Bradley Laurent, who is representing the family of the man killed, Salaythis Melvin.  “This family should be allowed to see the video to get some sort of closure,” Laurent said.  

The deadly deputy-involved shooting happened midday Friday outside the Florida Mall.  At the time, Orange County Sheriff John Mina told FOX 35 News that his investigators were looking for a man with an outstanding warrant for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon who is also a person of interest in a shooting in Pine Hills.

RELATED: Man shot by Orange County deputy near Florida Mall dies

When deputies pulled up behind them near the Florida Mall, Sheriff Mina said, “One suspect ran. That person was armed with a stolen Glock handgun. At some point, our deputy shot that person."

Laurent’s issue with this is, “He was not the person that he was looking for and he was not doing anything wrong.”

Laurent says the video could clear up confusion and determine whether the shooting was justified, but Sheriff Mina won’t let him or Melvin’s family see it. 

“They allege that he took off running. He wasn’t a threat, but for some reason, the officer involved says when Mr. Melvin took off running he turned around and looked back at him," Laurent explained, "and when he looked back at him -- not that he turned around, just that he turned and looked at him -- he decided that Mr. Melvin was a threat and he was going to shoot him in the back.”

FOX 35 News filed an official records request for the deputy’s body-worn camera video.  It has not yet been fulfilled. Right now, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the deputy-involved shooting.

Black Lives Matter is holding a "No Justice, No Peace" rally outside the Florida Mall where this shooting happened at 4 p.m. on  Friday.