Update (May 15, 2020): The Houston Police Department will not be releasing footage of a fatal shooting involving an officer and a 48-year-old Black man. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo made the announcement after meeting with the family of Adrian Medearis, a gospel singer who was shot and killed by an officer after being pulled over for suspicion of drinking on May 8.

We met with Mr. Medearis’ family yesterday and reviewed the video evidence with them.

At the end of our meeting, the family asked @houstonpolice to not release the videos, & we will honor their request.

Our thoughts are with everyone involved. https://t.co/Kr42cRugXl

— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 13, 2020

"We met with Mr. Medearis' family yesterday and reviewed the video evidence with them," Acevedo wrote on Twitter. "At the end of our meeting, the family asked Houston Police to not release the videos & we will honor their request."

According to NBC News, the family initially asked for the video to be released. However, Acevedo had said that he would first meet with the family before releasing the footage.

“We have a responsibility to the family,” the police chief said at a press conference on Monday. “Not everybody wants their loved one to be in cyberspace for the rest of eternity and their last minute on earth to be public.”

Medearis was allegedly traveling at 97 mph on the freeway around 1:05 a.m. when he was pulled over, Houston Press reported. After being instructed to exit the freeway and park in a nearby parking lot, the gospel singer took a sobriety test and denied consuming alcohol before admitting he had a mimosa, according to Houston Press.

Police said an officer, only identified as J. Ramos, tried to arrest Medearis after the sobriety test, but the 48-year-old resisted and grabbed the officer’s Taser. That's when the policeman allegedly fired four times, killing the former gospel director for the Prairie View A&M Baptist Student Movement, the Houston Chronicle reported.

During the struggle, which lasted about two minutes, the officer had Medearis pinned to the ground, police said. But he allegedly flipped the officer over when he tried to use one hand to call for backup.

"What's sad about this is that by all accounts what occurred is conduct that is not consistent with who Mr. Medearis is," Acevedo said.

According to The New York Times, Medearis' longtime friend, Dav Lewis, was among those who were initially demanding to see the video.

"Everybody — and especially his family — deserve to know what happened that night, they need to see what happened to their loved one," Lewis said before the family saw the footage. "We must hold the police accountable and we're not going to just sit back and take the police word on this."

Lewis also said the alleged incident doesn't reflect the gospel singer's character. Police said there were no other officers involved in the incident and no known witnesses.

Original (May 13, 2020): A community in Houston is outraged after police shot and killed a Black gospel singer during a traffic stop on Friday. According to NBC News, Adrian Medearis was stopped on suspicion of being drunk when a scuffle allegedly broke out and turned fatal.

The Houston Police Department released a statement, saying Medearis took a sobriety test after he was pulled over for speeding. The gospel singer was allegedly traveling 97 mph on the freeway around 1:05 a.m. when he was pulled over, Houston Press reported.

After being instructed to exit the freeway and park into a nearby parking lot, Medearis took a sobriety test and denied consuming alcohol before admitting he had a mimosa, according to Houston Press.

Police said an officer identified as J. Ramos tried to arrest Medearis after the sobriety test, but the 48-year-old resisted and grabbed the officer’s Taser. That's when the policeman allegedly fired four times, killing the former gospel director for the Prairie View A&M Baptist Student Movement, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Family and friends of the gospel singer are now demanding to see video of the incident. However, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he has to first meet with the family and personally show it to them before releasing the video.

“Transparency is key, we are willing to release everything once we get through the process, but we have a responsibility to the family … not everybody wants their loved one to be in cyberspace for the rest of eternity and their last minute on earth to be public,” the police chief said at a press conference.

According to The New York Times, Medearis' longtime friend, Dav Lewis, is among those who are demanding to see the video.

"Everybody — and especially his family — deserve to know what happened that night, they need to see what happened to their loved one," Lewis said. "We must hold the police accountable and we're not going to just sit back and take the police word on this."

Acevedo said the officer’s body camera fell off during the scuffle, but there is footage from other cameras. The police chief also said Medearis mentioned the recent fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery during the confrontation. It's unknown exactly what he said.

During the struggle, which lasted about two minutes, the officer had Medearis pinned to the ground, police said. But the 48-year-old allegedly flipped the officer over when he tried to use one hand to call for backup.

"What's sad about this is that by all accounts what occurred is conduct that is not consistent with who Mr. Medearis is," Acevedo said.

Lewis also said the alleged incident doesn't reflect the gospel singer's character.

"We deserve to see the proof of what police are alleging," he said. "Nothing is going to make sense until we see the video."

According to the Houston Chronicle, Medearis founded a contemporary gospel group known as God’s Anointed People.

Police said there were no other officers involved in the incident and no known witnesses.

Adrian Medearis

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week