(CNN) Florida state police released body camera videos Thursday afternoon showing officers waiting before they entered the home of a former state data scientist and the testy confrontation that followed when she exited -- providing new context about a controversial police raid that has attracted national attention this week.
Officers were serving a search warrant Monday morning at the home of Rebekah Jones, a coronavirus data scientist who was fired from the state and has accused Florida officials of covering up the extent of the pandemic.
The state Department of Law Enforcement is investigating whether Jones illegally accessed a state messaging system to send her former colleagues a message urging them to speak out about coronavirus deaths. Jones, who has feuded with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for months, has denied sending the message.
The two videos released by the department show that Jones didn't exit her Tallahassee home until about 23 minutes after officers first rang the doorbell, and 15 minutes after they first announced themselves as police. Jones has claimed authorities waited 13 minutes while she got dressed.
Officers are seen calling Jones' cell phone to ask her to leave the house, while one holds a large hammer.
hkjok on December 11st, 2020 at 16:38 UTC »
Why won't they release body cam footage from start to finish, and not just when they were outside?
Starbuckz8 on December 11st, 2020 at 13:30 UTC »
That cop at 16:00 in the second video after she exits the residence is just a dick. Being purposely aggressive and insulting
DerelictDonkeyEngine on December 11st, 2020 at 13:28 UTC »
Can we see the body cams of the officers who entered with their guns drawn and aimed them at the top of the stairs?