Memphis Video Shows National Guard Aiming Guns at Dying Man; Autopsy Says He Was Shot in Back
Photo: The Guardian USNewly released video shows Tennessee National Guard members in Memphis pointing handguns at 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson as he lay dying on a sidewalk after a guard member shot him, the Shelby County district attorney's office said when it released the footage on Monday. Johnson, who was armed, died at the scene on 5 July from a single gunshot wound, according to investigators. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is still investigating. The release includes body camera footage from a Memphis police officer, stationary camera video and a bystander's cellphone recording. In the police footage, an officer calls for an ambulance and asks the troops whether they have a medical kit. The video does not show Johnson's first encounter with the guard members or the moment they fired. Police and National Guard accounts said Johnson was facing the troops with a gun, but an autopsy report shared by his family found he was shot in the back. The guard members were part of a federal task force created by President Donald Trump, who sent troops and federal agents to Democratic-run cities he described as overrun with crime. Republican Gov. Bill Lee deployed the guard to support it.
Left-leaning coverage, represented by The Guardian US, leads with the troops training guns on a dying man and builds the story around the prosecutors' footage. It quotes the officer's request for a medical kit, lists the types of video released, and sets out the autopsy finding against the police and guard accounts. It also supplies political context, linking the guard to Trump's task force, his deployments to Democratic-run cities and Gov. Lee's decision to send troops. Al Jazeera, the alternative outlet, covers the story more briefly. It leads with the bodycam footage and the same contrast between authorities' claim that Johnson came at soldiers with a gun and the autopsy's finding that he was shot in the back, without the political background. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had, and those outlets are focusing on the video and the autopsy discrepancy.
How the sides differ Left sources add detail on the task force, Trump and Gov. Lee; alternative sources are briefer, stressing the autopsy versus authorities' account; right sources have not covered it.
Headline, comparison and summary written by AI from the articles below. AI can make mistakes, so check the original articles before relying on a detail.
The Guardian US leads with troops aiming guns at a dying man, quoting the officer's medical-kit request and the family's autopsy, and ties the case to Trump's task force and Gov. Lee's deployment.
Al Jazeera gives a short account built on the bodycam footage, contrasting authorities' claim that Johnson came at soldiers armed with an autopsy showing he was shot in the back.
Not covering this story. None of the right-leaning outlets Crosswire tracks has reported it yet. What one side leaves out can be as telling as what the others report.