Fresno Police Chief says body cam video of fatal police shooting will be public at investigation's end

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says he's received numerous emails and phone calls from the community about a fatal officer-involved shooting over the weekend.

He stated Wednesday that he will be releasing that body camera video, just not as soon as people want to see it.

A continuous stream of friends keep watch over a memorial in east-central Fresno, the last place Dylan Noble stood alive before he was shot and killed by Fresno Police officers Saturday.

"They are accusing things of doing," Noble's friend Emily Orndoff said. "Things that I just can't ever imagine him doing, accusing him of doing things that endanger other people."

The grief has led people to ask questions, and many are hoping the answers are on body cameras police were wearing.

An online petition demanding the video be released quickly has gathered more than 10,000 signatures, and many of Noble's friends remain incredulous at the idea that Noble would have acted confrontational.

"Just to see why," Noble's friend Austin Miller explained. "What was the legit reason."

Under California law, Fresno Police are not obligated to release body cam footage, but Dyer says he will in this case.

"I think it's high-quality video and it does provide the viewer the state-of-mind of why they did what they did," he explained.

The department has only done this once in its history.

Dyer says he will release the video after a criminal investigation is completed first, a process that could take 60 to 90 days.

For Noble's friends, it's an excruciating wait.

"To do so prematurely would taint the investigation," Dyer said. "And certainly taint any witness information, should there be any witnesses that are outstanding."

"For four bullets to go inside of him," Miller said. "I mean, that's almost overkill."

While many friends have been grieving peacefully, others have been more vocal - doing donuts on the road and even blocking traffic.

Friends say getting justice for Dylan is important, but, for now, the focus should more on how he's remembered.

"Acting that way, in my opinion, that's not a way to honor somebody," Orndoff said. "He would want to see us as happy as can be, celebrating the person he was, and not fighting over the way he died."