DULUTH, Ga. — Duluth Police have released a statement along with portions of body camera video after reports that they wrongfully detained a young man who had been accused of a crime by a neighbor.
The new video supports much of what 18-year-old Fousseyni Sissoko and his friends told 11Alive in an exclusive on Thursday, though it also differs in some parts.
Sissoko had picked up Stephanie Viloria from her job around 10 p.m. on Wednesday and dropped her off at her home in Duluth. They hung out, in front of the home, with her brother Juan Viloria who had just arrived in his Ford F-150 pickup truck.
Sissoko said he left about 20 minutes later in his black Volkswagen and hadn't made it far when he saw officers pointing flashlights at him - and he later learned they were also pointing at least one gun at him.
Video from the Duluth Police Department released Friday supports his description of the initial encounter. The video shows a vehicle coming from further down the block when an officer is heard shouting commands.
"Stop! Hands! Stop! Driver, get out of the car!" the officer shouts as the car approaches and decelerates. "Stop, show me your hands!"
The officer then asks if the car is in park. Sissoko is heard responding "Yes, sir."
The officer then orders him to reach out of the open drivers side window with his left hand to open the door to the vehicle from the outside latch. Sissoko responds aloud that he is unlocking his door, to which the officer replies "OK."
Sissoko also asks if he can unbuckle his seatbelt, to which the officer instructs him to use his right hand to do so. The video shows the officer training his gun on the driver as the driver follows the officer's commands.
A police report provided to 11Alive by Duluth Police reiterates that the officer drew his pistol as the car approached but said his finger was not on the trigger during the stop.
Sissoko then follows commands to get out of his car with his hands up and turn toward the vehicle, initially lowing his hands slightly and prompting an additional response from the officer.
"Ah, hands - keep your hands up," the officer says.
The driver quickly complies and brings his hands back up before being told to step backward and then get on his knees.
Both officers are heard in the video telling Sissiko that he is being detained.
The video then cuts to a second body camera showing the same encounter but starting at the point where Sissoko is asked to get out of his vehicle.
The video then cuts to the point at which the second officer begins questioning him and explaining why he is being detained.
Officer 2: "The reason why we're here is one of the neighbors called, looks like someone was trying to break in the truck."
Sissoko: "OK"
Officer 2: "And they said that they were driving a Volkswagen."
Sissoko: "OK."
Officer 2: "So it was, you, how many other people was with ya."
Sissoko: "It was just two other people - Juan and Stephanie - I did not get out of my car at all."
Officer 2: "Was he trying to get into his truck?"
Sissoko: "That's his truck. So, like, there's nothing going on."
Officer 2: "Did he just not have his keys or what?"
Sissoko: "Well, he pulled in and he had his keys with him."
The video cuts to a slate showing that the second officer was continuing to explain why they were there.
Officer 2: "Somebody called, said they were trying to break into a white F-150."
Sissoko: "Uh-huh."
Officer 2: "And there was a black Volkswagen out front and there was multiple people."
Sissoko: "I mean, well, he can confirm that he came in as well, sir."
The videos reiterate the narrative from a 911 caller that there were several people in the cul-de-sac near the parked pickup truck, including a Black man, a HIspanic man and a white woman-- who turned out to be Sissoko and his friends, sister and brother Stephanie and Juan Viloria (Stephanie is heard on the video explaining to the officers that she is, in fact, Hispanic.)
The other people the 911 caller saw? "They were in a Jeep," Stephanie can be heard saying off-camera. "We saw them, we were trying to interact with them but they wouldn't respond."
The officers continue speaking with Juan and Stephanie, soon learning that the descriptions provided by the caller appear to match them and that Juan is, in fact, the owner of the pickup truck.
Sissoko is released two minutes after he was handcuffed, once his friends confirm his story. The officers explain what happened and added that his speed leaving the location played at least some role.
Officer 2: "And honestly, when you came out and you're kind of -"
Sissoko: "Yeah"
Officer 2: "Sound like trying to -"
Officer 3: "It's not super-fast but, in a way, like, when we see that, it's like they tryin' to run."
Sissoko: "I did get my oil changed today, so -"
Officer 3: "Ah, you know, step it up a bit."
Both officers ultimately apologize more than once for the encounter and ask him if he had any other questions. In the video, Sissoko responds to the officers, "I don't blame you."
The police video ends with police asking again if Sissoko has any questions and one officer saying again that he is "extraordinarily sorry" to which Sissoko responds, "No, it's fine, it happens. We're all human."
In a statement, the department described Sissiko as cooperative throughout the stop adding that the driver "understood that someone called and claimed he was a suspect and accepted the officers' explanation and apologies."
The department added that it wanted to encourage members of the community to continue to report suspicious activity. The video shared by police also includes alleged 911 audio from the scene which supports the statements made by police about the initial call. With the caller saying he'll stay at the location until police arrive.
The audio first appears to suggest that it was the Volkswagen that was being broken into but later clarifies that it's actually the truck - and that the suspect or suspects "came to the location in a black Volkswagen."