Marrakech – Police in Greensboro, a mid-sized city in the US state of North Carolina, on Monday released body-worn camera footage documenting the fatal shooting of Said Ezzine, a 48-year-old Moroccan national, by an officer during a trespassing call last August.
The footage, made public after a Superior Court judge granted the department’s request, reignited scrutiny over the use of lethal force in encounters that begin as low-level, non-violent calls.
At approximately 4:06 p.m. on August 5, 2025, a resident in the 1600 block of Marion Street flagged down a patrol officer over a trespassing complaint. The resident directed Officer Lewis J. Wyatt toward Ezzine, who was suspected of being on a nearby property without authorization.
The video shows Wyatt attempting to engage Ezzine, who refused to comply with repeated commands and declined a weapon search. At one point, Wyatt can be heard telling Ezzine, “Come here, friend. I just need to talk to you.” Ezzine walked away. “We got a weapon, he’s brandishing a weapon,” the responding patrolman can be heard declaring in the body camera footage.
Wyatt pointed a taser at Ezzine but did not deploy it. The footage then shows Ezzine entering a shed on the property, where he retrieved a steering wheel lock. He later picked up a saw blade and walked toward the officer before throwing it on the ground. He then grabbed a pipe wrench and advanced toward Wyatt again.
The officer repeatedly ordered Ezzine to drop the weapon. “I will shoot you, I will shoot you right now, bro,” Wyatt warned before discharging his firearm four times. Ezzine, after being struck, ran behind the home. Emergency medical services were called, but he died at the scene despite life-saving efforts.
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The body camera footage was withheld for months. Greensboro police initially refused to release the recording to Ezzine’s family or the public, citing an ongoing investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. It took legal pressure and a court order to compel its release.
Critics argue that the intervention disregarded Ezzine’s apparent mental distress at the time and that non-lethal alternatives could have contained the situation. The department has previously faced excessive force litigation, including a case it lost to a victim’s family.
The Greensboro Police Department noted that Wyatt was familiar with Ezzine from prior encounters. It added that Ezzine’s recent arrest history included charges of assault on officers.
Greensboro Police Chief Kamran Afzal, addressing reporters during a press conference, acknowledged the gravity of the outcome. “Any loss of life during an encounter with law enforcement is significant and deeply impactful for the individual’s loved ones, for the officers involved, and for the broader community we serve,” Afzal stated.
He also conceded that a federal Court of Appeals ruling restricted the use of tasers in situations where a suspect is merely walking away, limiting non-lethal options for officers across North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and parts of South Carolina.
Still, Afzal insisted the department must evaluate its own conduct. “Professional policing requires us to continually evaluate whether there are opportunities to slow situations down, create additional time and distance,” he told reporters.
“The aim isn’t to kill anybody,” Afzal said. “The aim is to stop the threat that is occurring. Unfortunately, sometimes that does result in death.”
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation conducted a criminal probe into the shooting. The Guilford County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the findings earlier this month and determined that Wyatt’s use of deadly force was legally justified under state law.
Under North Carolina law, officers are authorized to resort to deadly force when they reasonably perceive an imminent threat of lethal harm to themselves or others, according to police.
Wyatt has since returned from administrative leave.
