Bodycam Video Shows St. Louis Officer Shoot Fleeing 17‑Year‑Old Emeshyon Wilkins in Back of Head

Bodycam footage released after a year-long legal fight shows a St. Louis police officer shooting 17‑year‑old Emeshyon Wilkins in the back of the head as he fled following a stop of a reportedly stolen vehicle, contradicting earlier accounts from investigators. The newly published video does not show Wilkins pointing a gun at officers; a federal lawsuit filed on his family's behalf says the firearm recovered from Wilkins was disassembled into multiple pieces in his pocket and therefore incapable of being fired. The family’s attorney only obtained the footage after filing a federal suit and a denied records request, underscoring the delay in public access to the bodycam material.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officials have acknowledged that initial information provided to investigators and the public was not consistent with what the video shows, and the department says it has revised protocols so that body‑camera personnel respond to scenes and footage is reviewed before releasing initial statements. Legal commentators on social media and elsewhere note the split between criminal‑law standards—whether an officer reasonably believed an imminent threat existed—and civil liability, with observers saying the disassembled gun parts and the video are likely to shape a substantial civil lawsuit even if prosecutors assess the officer’s perception of threat differently.

Public reaction on social platforms has been immediate and forceful: national outlets and users highlighted the contradiction between early police statements and the footage, with some commenters condemning the shooting outright and others urging transparency reforms. Coverage that drove the narrative shift came after the bodycam was obtained and shared by outlets including CBS and ABC, which emphasized how the video altered the account of what happened and prompted the department to change how it handles body‑camera evidence and public briefings.