ORLANDO – Roughly one month after he died in police custody, Isaiah Payne’s final moments have been released to the public.
On Friday, Orlando police released body camera video of officers handcuffing the 31-year-old Payne on Feb. 1.
“This is a known person that unfortunately had been trespassed from here in the past,” Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon said at a press conference on the day of Payne’s death. “We don’t know if (the officer) recognized him as the person who had been trespassed, but we do know that, in fact, there was something going on that led the officer to believe that he may have been involved some type of drug activity.”
Of the dozens of videos released by the Orlando Police Dept., several specifically highlight the confrontation, including one from Officer Shauib Moonda, who was the first to make contact with Payne around 10:24 am.
It is still not clear if Moonda recognized Payne from previous interactions, but News 6 confirmed Friday that Moonda was not responding to any particular call for service or help when he came up behind Payne.
“You can make it easy or hard. Don’t [expletive] move,” Moonda said to Payne in the video.
“Why are you following me,” Payne asked.
“Because I saw you,” Moonda replied.
“I got a weed card. I got a weed card, sir,” Payne said.
“Don’t [expletive] move. You understand me? Don’t [expletive] move. Stop digging around or I’m going to put you to the ground,” Moonda can be heard saying in the video.
“Why,” Payne said.
“Stop -”, said Moonda, who cuts himself off as a physical scuffle ensues.
Videos show Payne being taken down to the ground by officers while they tell him to “stop resisting” and to “just relax.” Moonda uses a baton on Payne, and later points a taser at the 31-year-old.
“Stop [expletive] chewing! You are destroying evidence!” Moonda can be heard shouting.
“If he wants to swallow it, let him swallow it,” another officer said off-camera.
It’s not clear if Payne ingested anything during the incident, but shortly after officers gott Payne into handcuffs, Payne can be heard on the video saying, “help me”, and he begins to breathe abnormally.
In the video, officers are seen turning Payne to his side and while administering Narcan to Payne, a drug commonly used to help prevent opioid overdoses.
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It’s unclear how many times officers gave Payne Narcan.
Minutes later, after Payne passes out, officers remove the handcuffs to begin CPR, according to the body camera footage.
According to time stamps on the video, roughly eight and a half minutes passed between the initial point of contact and the moment handcuffs are removed. It appears Payne spent roughly six to seven minutes in handcuffs before an officer began CPR.
News 6 has decided to post this body camera video in its entirety, unedited. A word of warning; this video may be disturbing to some viewers:
News 6 reached Payne’s mother, Zericka Payne. She declined to comment citing an ongoing lawsuit. News 6 reached out to renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is currently representing Payne’s family. They did not response by our deadline.
In total, 17 officers were involved. OPD confirmed all have since returned to duty. The Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement is still investigating the incident.
Alongside the body camera video, Rolón also released this statement:
“Today we have released the body worn camera video of the Orlando Police Department’s response to an incident that occurred at 5100 North Lane on February 1, 2022 involving Isaiah Payne. At this time, the independent investigation by FDLE remains in progress and once completed, the findings will be sent to the State Attorney’s Office. After the State’s review, the findings will be sent to the Orlando Police Department and the Internal Affairs investigation will proceed.
In our commitment to transparency, in January our Body Worn Camera policy was updated to allow the expedited release of video recordings for certain incidents. As part of our policy, the immediate family member of those involved in these incidents are given an opportunity to view the video before it is released to the general public. I personally spoke with Mr. Payne’s mother and invited her to view the videos. The loss of a loved one, regardless of the circumstances, can be very difficult. The Orlando Police Department extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Payne for his untimely passing.
As you will be able to see from the videos, officers and fire personnel rendered immediate aid to Mr. Payne. Mr. Payne was transported to the hospital where he later passed away. Although the medical examiner’s report has not been completed yet, when done, it will show the official cause of death.”
Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolon