Greensboro police release 104 videos related to death of teen after traffic stop

Greensboro Police have released more than 100 videos that capture what happened the night an officer shot a teen to death during an August traffic stop.

Police released the videos on their YouTube channel in accordance with instructions from a Guilford County court, which required the images and voices of minors in the footage to be redacted.

Seventeen-year-old Nasanto Crenshaw died in the shooting. The officer who fired the shots into the vehicle has been identified as Corporal M.L. Sletten. Crenshaw’s family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit.

Police also issued a separate 15-minute recorded statement that shows key points in the videos with a police explanation of what happened. Department spokesperson Josie Cambareri narrates what unfolded when the juvenile suspects try to flee after they’ve been cornered in a parking lot on West Market Street. 

“As Corporal Sletten walks around the rear of the patrol vehicle he repeats, ‘Get on the ground, do it now.’" she says. "At that moment, the driver places the Nissan in drive and begins to accelerate forward toward where Cpl. Sletten is standing. Cpl. Sletten gives the command ‘Stop,’ and then discharges his duty weapon three times. Two of the shots go through the front windshield, and one shot goes through the front passenger window.”

In March, Guilford District Attorney Avery Crump issued a five-page statement saying Sletten’s use of deadly force was justified self-defense and that she would not seek charges against him.

Attorneys for the family say the car was not coming directly toward the officer and deadly force was inappropriate.