Lawyer: Video doesn't justify shooting of student

Jere Beasley described the videotaped death of University of South Alabama freshman Gil Collar during a news conference attended by the student's parents.

"I can tell you without reservation nothing we saw in the videotape justified the use of deadly force in this case," said Beasley, a former Alabama lieutenant governor.

Beasley said his chief investigator and one of his lawyers who is a former police officer were shown the tape Wednesday by the Mobile County Sheriff's Department.

The video shows Collar never got closer to the officer than 4 feet and didn't try to grab his weapon, said Beasley. But, Beasley said, Collar and the officer move out of the camera's view before Collar was shot in the chest.

Beasley said the officer came outside the police station with his gun drawn and shot Collar no more than 30 seconds later. He said a radio dispatcher came out of the station at the beginning of the tape and then returned inside to call backup. Another officer arrived seconds after the shooting.

"I have seen nothing to indicate to me that you ought to go out there with a raised gun against a guy who's buck naked, unarmed and in distress," he said.