Daytona Beach, FL - The mother of a man shot and killed by Daytona Beach police is suing the city for the body camera footage of her son’s death, and they’re expected to settle soon.
An agenda item for Wednesday’s (March 16) regularly scheduled Daytona Beach City Commission meeting shows city leaders are slated to weigh in on a possible $1,000 settlement for Annabelle Moktader. She’s the mother of Randy Lansang, a man who was wanted in a shooting investigation.
Lansang was being surveilled by the Daytona Beach Police Department when he got into the passenger seat of a car. Police followed him until the car reached the intersection of Beville Road and Ridgewood Avenue, where two undercover cars boxed in the vehicle. Lansang was ordered out of the vehicle, but continued to sit in the passenger seat despite being tased and the deployment of a K-9.
According to the DBPD, four officers opened fire after Lansang appeared to have reached for a loaded handgun; around 20 shots were fired, it’s unknown how many hit Lansang. He was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
The purpose of Moktader’s lawsuit, according to the city, is to release the body camera footage of her son’s death. She tried to file a public records request for the footage, but the city denied the request—after receiving advice from the State Attorney’s Office—saying the footage is part of an active investigation, meaning it’s exempted from records requests by law.
Eventually, Moktader enlisted the help of Orlando-based attorney Carlus Haynes and filed a lawsuit against the city, demanding the release of the footage. Moktader argued that as the parent and personal representative of her son, she is entitled to the footage under Florida law. The law she cited says body camera footage may be released to a personal representative of someone recorded by that camera, but she’s only entitled to the portions that contain that person’s presence, in this case that’s Lansang.
A memo from City Attorney Robert Jagger says his office and the police department reached a settlement with Moktader that is now up to the commission to weigh in on. If approved, the settlement will provide Moktader with redacted footage of the incident—with the faces of the officers blurred as the investigation into the shooting continues—and $1,000 for filing costs and attorney’s fees. Jagger recommended approving the settlement.
Lansang’s family, meanwhile, set up a GoFundMe campaign to fund Randy’s funeral and bring his remains back to his home in California. At the time of this report, $31,555 has been raised out of a $50,000 goal.
The Daytona Beach City Commission is set to meet at 6:00 p.m.
