Family of Lakewood man killed by sheriff's deputies releases witness' video

In the final moments of John Berry's life, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies attempted to pull him from his car and shot him with a Taser as a woman screamed at them to stop. Then came the gunfire that sprayed the windshield of his BMW. Minutes later, the 31-year-old was pronounced dead at the curb just outside his Lakewood home.

The July 6 incident was captured on a shaky, three-minute cellphone video that attorneys for Berry's family said Monday is key evidence in a claim they filed against the county and the Sheriff's Department for negligence, assault and battery and violation of civil rights.

At the time of the shooting, the agency said Berry had rammed his vehicle into a responding patrol car and later trapped a deputy between his vehicle and another auto.

But an attorney for Berry's family said that Berry never struck the patrol car with his vehicle and that the shooting began after a deputy fell down beside the cars.

Read the full report by Corina Knoll and Ruben Vives and watch the video on latimes.com >>