Buffalo police release video of fatal shooting

In the minutes before Dae’von Roberts was fatally shot by Buffalo Police Officer Ronald Ammerman, the officer and Roberts had a calm exchange about the status of his driver’s license.

Roberts politely called the officer “sir” several times as he answered her questions early Wednesday morning, just after midnight.

After the officer asked Roberts to get out of the car, Roberts suddenly put the car in drive and sped off while Ammerman held on to the open door as the car sped down Kensington Avenue, weaving from lane to lane, while Roberts’ 6-year-old cousin sat in the passenger seat.

“You’re gonna kill me, brother. You’re gonna kill me, brother. You’re gonna kill me. You’re gonna kill me, brother,” Ammerman yelled as police said Roberts was driving at speeds in excess of 60 mph.

Twenty-two seconds after Roberts took off, Ammerman fired five shots, all of which police said hit Roberts, 25.

WARNING: Video contains explicit images and language.

The 6-year-old boy screamed in fear just before Roberts fell out of the car, knocking Ammerman out of the door at the same time.

Ammerman then shouted “Shots fired” as he ran toward the still-moving car as it slowly stopped, and lifted the child from the front seat.

“Are you okay?” Ammerman asks the child. “You’re okay.”

“Yes,” the boy replied.

The fatal encounter between Roberts and Buffalo police is detailed in body camera video released Thursday by the Buffalo Police Department.

The video camera panned down as Ammerman fired and appears to show Roberts kicking Ammerman.

Police also released body camera video taken by Officer Jonathan Crawford. Crawford was riding with Ammerman when they stopped Roberts’ car for speeding.

The officers explained to him that he had been stopped for speeding and that the windows were tinted. They also told him that the boy in the front seat was supposed to be in a car seat.

Roberts told police the car belonged to his sister.

“Yeah man, I swear to God I get arrested every day,” Roberts said calmly.

Ammerman asked Roberts why, if he gets pulled over so often, he doesn’t remove the tinted windows.

He doesn’t live here and this isn’t his car, he told the officer.

Roberts told officers that his half-brother, Jaylen Griffin, was the missing 12-year-old boy who was found dead in April.

“My brother just died. Jaylen Griffin, the baby, went missing in the fall of 2020,” Roberts tells Ammerman.

“Yes, it’s sad,” Ammerman said.

“He’s my little brother, my brother,” Roberts said.

As the car drove away, Crawford briefly ran toward it before turning to get into the police car and follow Roberts’ vehicle, stopping after Roberts fell out of the car.

As the civilian vehicles continued down the street, Crawford yelled at them to move away while pointing his gun at Roberts and telling him not to move. Roberts lay face down in the middle of Kensington Avenue, his feet moving slowly.

Other officers arrive on scene and begin providing medical care to Roberts, scrambling to retrieve medical gloves as they turn him onto his back.

Roberts was pronounced dead at Erie County Medical Center.

At a news conference Thursday at 3 p.m., Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said he believed there was a justified use of force by Ammerman.

“When you consider that the officer was in a situation of serious risk of physical injury or death, the use of that level of force is justified by law and I believe it is a justified use of force in this case,” Gramaglia said.

“A vehicle can be a deadly weapon,” he said.

He said Roberts did not have a valid driver’s license in New York or Georgia. A handgun found under the driver’s seat was reported stolen in Greensboro, North Carolina, in May 2020, Gramaglia said.

Gramaglia said police showed redacted and unredacted versions of the body camera video to Roberts’ family Thursday morning.

Ammerman, an officer for 7 1/2 years, and Crawford, an officer for two years, are on administrative leave while the police department investigates the fatal shooting.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that it has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting Wednesday by a Buffalo police officer. State law requires the attorney general’s Office of Special Investigations to evaluate incidents in which police officers may have caused a person’s death. If investigators conclude that the officer may have caused the death, a full investigation is opened.

Roberts was charged in an April 22 shooting that left no one injured at a memorial service for his half-brother near Memorial Drive and Sweet Avenue.

Roberts was charged June 4 with attempted assault and weapons possession, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. A court date in that case was scheduled for July 23, according to court documents.

The brothers’ mother, Joann Ponzo, died on September 18, 2023, at the age of 48.

Jaylen’s older brother, Jawaan Griffin, was killed in a shooting on Memorial Drive in November 2020. He was 18.

“This is obviously a very sad situation in every way,” Gramaglia said. “This family has been through a lot in the last few years, and of course I expressed my appreciation for that.”

This is not the first time Ammerman has come under fire.

Ammerman’s use of force during a traffic stop in May 2020 came under scrutiny the following year, when court documents were filed as a prelude to a trial.

An investigation by the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office concluded that no charges were filed against Ammerman and another officer.