Durham police drew guns on 15-year-old in August. When the public might see the video.

It could be Sept. 30 or later before a judge decides whether to let the public see video from an August incident in which Durham police officers approached an unarmed 15-year-old boy with their guns drawn.

The Durham City Council watched seven body-camera recordings from the Aug. 21 incident during a closed portion of its Thursday meeting, City Attorney Kim Rehberg wrote in an email Monday. A judge allowed the council and the officers’ attorney to view the videos but denied, for now, the city’s request to share them with the media and general public.

Three children, ages 8 (now 9), 11 and 15, were outside Rochelle Manor Apartments when officers looking for an armed suspect arrived, with their guns drawn, police and two of the boys have said. An officer handcuffed the 15-year-old, the boys also have said.

Makeba Hoffler, the mother of the youngest child, wants all of the videos to be made available to the public. She said she was allowed to see the parts that showed her son.

“We’ve seen the parts that they wanted us to see,” she said in an interview Monday with The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. “We were not able to see the full tape.”

Durham Police Chief C.J. Davis has said police were responding to a 911 call and has expressed remorse for the incident, The News & Observer reported.

“Upon their arrival, Durham police officers believed an individual behind the building was the suspect. It was not until the young man was detained that officers realized he was not the suspect, but rather, a 15-year-old resident of Rochelle Manor,” Davis wrote in a Facebook post Aug. 30.

The officers then holstered their guns, she wrote, adding “guns were not pointed at the heads of any of the individuals on the scene.”

DPD review could take until Sept. 30

After watching the videos, the council agreed to again seek their public release, Rehberg wrote in the email. No date has been set to reappear before Superior Court Judge Josephine Kerr Davis, but it could take just over two weeks or longer.

“The City Attorney’s Office has been informed by legal counsel for the police officers involved in the incident that they will continue to object to release of the subject footage prior to the completion of the administrative investigation currently being conducted by the Durham Police Department,” Rehberg wrote.

“I have been informed by the City Administration that they hope to complete that investigation by September 30th,” she added. “Thus, I anticipate that the City and counsel for the officers will discuss the petition with the Judge on or after that date.”

Daniel Meier, the officers’ attorney, said Monday he hasn’t been contacted regarding a date for the hearing.

Mother wants to see full recordings

Hoffler wants the officers held accountable for the impact she said the incident has had on the children, two of whom spoke at a protest Sept. 4.

“The whole video should be released to the public,” she said. “Maybe the public will see something we didn’t see. I don’t understand what the holdup is.”

At the protest, residents joined Hoffler in asking for the release of the body camera video and the 911 call that led to the incident.

“I just want them to understand that they mentally abused these kids,” Hoffler said. “My son has a mental breakdown when he sees cops.”

Staff writer Virginia Bridges contributed to this story.

This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 12:09 PM.