ATLANTA — An Atlanta city councilman wants authorities to release body camera footage of a police shooting 16 months ago.
Nygil Cullins, 22, was shot and killed at the Buckhead restaurant Fogo de Chão in May 2022.
Advocates for Cullins believe the police body camera footage of the incident would provide answers they’ve sought for nearly a year and a half.
"The guy honestly was just quiet and he looked really well dressed, a really nice looking guy," an eyewitness who saw Cullins in Fogo De Chão told 11Alive a few days after the fatal shooting.
The eyewitness, who only gave a first name, indicated Cullins had experienced a mental health episode in the popular Buckhead restaurant when police were called.
"He just starts mumbling and mouthing and getting louder and just saying absurd things," the witness said.
Witnesses said Cullins had a gun. Moments after police arrived, Cullins had been shot to death.
Some footage emerged on social media, but after 16 months – police bodycam footage remains unreleased.
This week at a city council public safety committee meeting, Atlanta city councilman Antonio Lewis asked a city attorney to release the bodycam video because, he said, there’s no indication of an ongoing investigation.
"So if there's not already an investigation for Nygel Cullins, I want to be like -- expeditiously -- we’re releasing that tape," Lewis said.
Nygil Cullens’ mother Mya Cullins, told 11Alive that city officials showed some of the footage to her family. She thinks she knows why they aren't releasing it.
"I feel that they are hiding something. That’s why I am demanding that they release the bodycam footage," she said. "No reason could justify the way they killed my son."
11Alive has also asked to see the body camera footage. An APD spokesperson denied the request — saying the 16 month old investigation remains active.