By James FitzGerald, BBC News
Video released by US police shows the moment officers shot and killed a girl who they were attempting to rescue.
It was believed that Savannah Graziano had been kidnapped by her father – who was suspected of killing her mother.
The two were fatally shot in the 2022 incident. The video shows Savannah, 15, was hit while obeying officers’ orders after a car chase and gun battle.
Police said they hope the video gives “insight into the unfortunate events”, as an investigation continues.
The narrated footage provided by police includes video clips and audio from a police helicopter. It states that Savannah and her father, Anthony Graziano, were struck “by deputy rounds and died of their injuries”.
Officials had not previously clarified whether Savannah had been fatally shot by officers or by her own 45-year-old father.
The footage, which also comprises witness dashcam clips, provides additional details of officers’ long pursuit of a pickup truck driven by Graziano. Savannah was seated on the passenger side of the truck.
Savannah had been living with her father in his truck and in hotels in the weeks prior to the episode, according to the Associated Press, with no allegations of wrongdoing by Graziano.
However, officials put out an Amber Alert – a message warning the US public of a child abduction – for Savannah when her mother was shot dead the day before the chase unfolded on 27 September 2022.
The helicopter footage of the episode shows Graziano’s truck speeding down a freeway. Narration added to the clips says shots were fired at officers from both sides of the vehicle. The alleged shooter is unclear.
The miles-long chase ends with Graziano surrounded by police cars at the side of the freeway near Hesperia, California. An “extensive exchange of gunfire” then broke out, according to the video narration.
Savannah can be seen emerging from the vehicle. Audio from the belt recorder of the officer on the ground captures him telling her to come over, and she obeys.
The narration states that Savannah was wearing “tactical gear and a helmet”, though this level of detail is not visible in the footage provided.
A shot is fired, and audio from the helicopter captures an officer saying: “Oh no.” The officer on the ground tells colleagues to “stop shooting her” and that “he’s in the car”, referring to Graziano.
Further shots are heard. The narration says the officer continues to tell his colleagues to stop, “but it was too late”.
The teenager was pronounced dead at hospital after attempts to give her medical aid. She was unarmed when she was shot.
Her father, who was also fatally hit, was declared dead at the scene, according to the narration. It adds that multiple weapons and body armour were found in his vehicle.
The incident remains under an independent investigation by California’s Department of Justice. The names of the officers involved in the incident have not been released.
San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the footage had been released in the interests of transparency.
“My hope is that this video will be watched in its entirety and provide insight into the unfortunate events that unfolded that day,” he said in a statement.
Sheriff Dicus said there had been “speculation and misrepresentation” of the case. He asked that the public wait to pass judgment until the state had finished its investigation.
The incident has again raised questions about the use of force by American police and of Mr Dicus’s police department.
His officers faced criticism for last month’s fatal shooting of an autistic 15-year-old boy, Ryan Gainer, who was having a mental health episode.
