‘OMG!!!!’: Florida Police Said They Were Forced to Kill a Black Man, Refused Calls for BodyCam Video — Then a Neighbor’s Footage Blew the Story Apart
South Florida cops claimed they were “forced to fire” at a 32-year-old Black man named Donald Taylor in August because he was armed and would not follow commands. But newly surfaced video contradicts those claims, showing the Black man walking away from cops with his hands raised to his sides showing no gun in his hand when a Hollywood police officer fired a single shot as Taylor had his back turned to the cops, killing him. Hollywood police in South Florida claimed they shot and killed Donald Taylor, a 32-year-old Black man, because he was armed but newly surface video contradicts those claims. (Photos: Whitehouse Law Firm) The video was obtained by the Whitehouse Law Group, a Black-owned law firm in Miami operated by attorney Erian Stirrup White who was retained by Taylor's family. It was posted to Instagram with the following caption. ‘Can’t Touch My Salary.’ Michigan Judge Caught on Recording Admitting She’s a ‘New Racist,’ Calling Black People ‘Lazy,’ Will Step Down from the Bench Donald Taylor was murdered by the Hollywood Police Department on August 3,2025. Our office was able to independently obtain video of the moments leading up to the shooting and what is absolutely clear is that Donald Taylor posed NO THREAT to the officers or the public at the time of this shooting. We demand public accountability and stand with Donald’s family as they pursue justice for this callous act. Hollywood police told local media after the August shooting that Taylor had an active arrest warrant because he was the main suspect in a string of armed robberies throughout Hollywood and Miramar, two municipalities in Broward County. They said they were conducting a surveillance operation in a Miramar neighborhood when they confronted Taylor. “The suspect was armed and refused to listen to officer’s verbal commands. At that point, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” police told local media at the time in a press release. Police also said they recovered a gun at the scene. But the newly surface video from a security camera in a home shows Taylor casually strolling through a residential neighborhood before he walks out of the frame. That is when the cops can be heard yelling at him, ordering him to the ground. Taylor then walks back into the frame with his arms extended to his side, walking away from the cops while looking back at them. He does not appear to be holding a gun. “What are you guys doing to me?” he says as he walks away. That was when a cop fires a single shot, causing Taylor to fall face down on the ground. “Don’t move!” the cop yells as he approaches with his gun drawn. A second cop walks alongside him with a gun drawn. Watch the video below. The brief clip, with a trigger warning on the law firm's Instagram page, stunned viewers. "OMG!!!!," one said. Another added, "Thank God someone camera caught this!" And, "I’m freakin speechless like why????" ‘Symptoms of a Mental Health Crisis’ Hollywood police say Taylor was involved in at least five violent altercations in the days leading up to his death, holding employees of a Dollar Store and a Walgreen’s at gunpoint while robbing the stores. Police said they came face to face with him during his crime spree but he managed to get away. In the days after the shooting, local media obtained cellphone video from a witness but the actual shooting is out of frame. Hollywood police have not confirmed the existence of body camera video. But the new video shows very clearly that Taylor was in no way threatening the cops which may explain the reluctance to release body camera video. And his attorneys say he was suffering from mental illness. “Donald was a loving son and brother, who recently began to suffer debilitating symptoms of a mental health crisis,” the Whitehouse Law Firm said in a press release posted on Instagram, announcing it will be representing Taylor’s family. “Within days of the incident, the Hollywood Police Department began to release misleading statements about the murder, suggesting that the officer fired his weapon because Donald was armed.” “Simultaneously, they have refused to release any information to his family. High definition video evidence, from an independent 3rd party reveals the truth; Donald was shot down without regard and without justification.” Hollywood police have not even released the name of the officer who shot Taylor, telling local media the case is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Local media has repeated the claims that police were forced to fire but the video shows that claim is a stretch since he was not threatening the cops. “The media has already begun to deflect from the callousness of his murder, by focusing on allegations of crimes he was accused of leading up to his murder,” the press release from the Whitehouse Law Firm states. “Despite the seriousness of these allegations, Donald, like any person accused of a crime in this country, was entitled to Due Process and the Presumption of Innocence. The police should not, and do not have the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner,” the attorneys added.
