鈥淐ould he really have seen what he said he saw? 鈥� Is there any way to know?鈥� grapples with these and other lingering questions about .
That December, Bufford was chased by St. Louis police after he ran from a confrontation beside a gas station (officers said they believed Bufford was urinating; Bufford, for his part, had previously been beaten by police in 2014 in a videotaped incident that went viral and had good reason to take off when he saw officers coming). Officer Lucas Roethlisberger then shot Bufford multiple times in a gangway between two homes in the city鈥檚 Carondelet neighborhood. He later testified that he 鈥渃ould see鈥� in the dark, narrow space 鈥� and that he saw Bufford pull a gun and point it at him.
Alison Flowers of the Chicago-based Invisible Institute co-authored a close look at the case last year, with the in-depth story co-published by the Riverfront Times and . But, , she 鈥渒new there was more to know. There always is.鈥�
So this past fall, Flowers headed back to St. Louis 鈥� and to the gangway. What she uncovered by measuring the amount of light in the gangway, 鈥渨hen the moon would be similar in size and illumination as the night of the shooting,鈥� challenges the police narrative of what occurred.
On Thursday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air, Flowers joined host Sarah Fenske to discuss her findings.
The talk show team also reached out to Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner鈥檚 office for comment. Bufford鈥檚 case is one in in which prosecutors have yet to make a determination regarding criminal charges.
鈥淭he Circuit Attorney鈥檚 office holds anyone who violates the laws of the State of Missouri accountable, even police officers,鈥� reads a statement Gardner鈥檚 office provided Wednesday. 鈥淥fficer involved shootings are very complex and unique cases which require thorough investigations that take time. Currently, this case is under investigation, and we will not comment.鈥�
Flowers said the Bufford family 鈥渟enses that this office is overwhelmed.鈥�
鈥淭hey have retained counsel for a potential civil suit, and so there may be a few avenues for them,鈥� Flowers said. 鈥淏ut of course they would like Kim Gardner to take this case more seriously. ... We all have a responsibility to act on knowledge, and that鈥檚 why I didn鈥檛 want to let this story go. There was much more to be known if I could be on the ground and conduct these tests. And now they know, and so we鈥檒l see what they do.鈥�
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
