Body camera footage released after man accused of holding a replica gun was shot by Pawtucket officer

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Body camera footage from the day an officer shot a man who was allegedly holding a fake gun in Pawtucket in June shows new perspectives on a tense scene.

On June 8, officers responded to Broad and Exchange streets for reports of a man with a gun.

Police said officer Thomas Letourneau shot 28-year-old Sebastian Yidana in the shoulder.

One officer’s camera captures the moments officers tended to Yidana, and asked if he was shot by police.

The mayor’s office said in a statement that preliminary findings reported Yidana was holding a rifle. Officials later confirmed the gun Yidana was allegedly holding was a plastic replica.

Footage of Letourneau firing his weapon was not released.

Other cameras caught the initial confusion between officers about the whereabouts of the weapon.

Additional body camera footage showed officers walking Letourneau to the front seat of a cruiser, and calming him down.

Officer Letourneau was placed on leave.

Yidana was charged with disorderly conduct and felony assault.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said that the full footage of the shooting of a man by a Pawtucket police officer will be released.

The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office and Rhode Island State Police continue their investigation into the shooting.