WARNING: The above video contains graphic content.
A Boston police officer suddenly drops to the ground after getting shot in the face while the man who shot him can be seen sprinting from the scene in a surveillance video released Friday by prosecutors.
The video, released by Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley, shows two unmarked Boston police vehicles, their blue lights on, pulling over a car March 27 in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. The video shows Officer John Moynihan looking into the driver's side window when he is shot at close range and drops to the ground.
Moynihan's body is obscured by other vehicles, but the driver who shot him can be seen running out of the camera frame, as other officers open fire. The man, Angelo West, was killed.
The officer continued to recover Friday from his injuries, and police Commissioner William Evans said Moynihan could be released from the hospital in a couple of days.
Police were investigating reports on gunfire when they pulled over West's car.
Conley said that at this stage, the investigation has not arrived at any findings or legal conclusions.
The prosecutor said he decided to release the video prior to the completion of the investigation to "tamp down speculation and rumors meant to inflame and not to inform" - a reference to initial rumblings in the predominantly black district that another black person might have been shot by police without justification. West's death comes after a series of fatal encounters by black men with police around the country.
Investigators have tried, but haven't yet talked to West's widow about the release of the video, the prosecutor said. West was buried Tuesday.
Referring to the decision to release the video, Evans said, "It's important to me to be as transparent as possible."
Evans said Moynihan, 34, is "remarkably, doing well. He's still rehabilitating and hopefully he will be released in a couple of days." Moynihan was shot with a .357 Magnum. He underwent surgery to have the bullet that entered just under his right eye removed from below his ear.
Authorities have said West had a violent criminal past with several prior gun convictions. Two other men who were with West are facing charges, but not in connection with the shooting.
