The Oscar-nominated short documentaryIncidentbegins with closed-circuit video shot from a utility pole along a Chicago street.
The film, streaming onThe New Yorkerwebsite, is made entirely from surveillance video and police body camera footage.
The CCTV video seems detached, unmoved by the shocking scene it records.
‘Incident’The New Yorker
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Beneath his shirt, he wore a holstered gun.
He did so, and they engaged in a calm, civil exchange.
CCTV footage shows the momentHarith Augustusis shot dead on a Chicago streetThe New Yorker
Augustus took out his wallet to show Jones his Firearm Owners Identification card.
Startled, he sought to break free and took several stumbling steps into the street.
While doing so, his hand appeared to touch his holstered gun.
[Office Dillan] Halley shot him five times.
AsIncidentshows, police body cameras recorded Dillan Halley telling fellow officers, He pulled a gun on me!
Another officer assured him, I know he did.
But a frame by frame analysis shows Augustus never pulled his gun.
The first thing we hear [Halley] say when the sergeant comes out and says, What happened?
and he said, He pointed a gun at me.
And they seem almost disbelieving, but we hear that get repeated over and over again.
That is what these times demand… People were and are demanding accountability and real and lasting change.
Morrison said he didnt want the Augustus case to be forgotten.
Building a forensic investigation showing what truly happened on that Chicago street in 2018 offers accountability of a kind.
No one knew Harith Augustuss name.
No one knew the story, Morrison said.
It had just gotten swept under the rug.
Incidentwon Best Documentary Short at the IDA Awards in 2023.
