Family of Wyleek Tinsley files lawsuit, demands release of bodycam video of deadly Abington Township shooting
The family of Wyleek Tinsley, the unarmed 19-year-old shot and killed by Abington Township police officers in March, is ramping up pressure on authorities, filing a federal wrongful death lawsuit this week and demanding the public release of all available body-worn camera footage and 911 recordings from the incident.
The deadly shooting occurred on March 6 at the Rosemore Gardens Apartments in Glenside.
According to police, officers responded to the scene after receiving a call from an 11-year-old girl reporting a domestic disturbance. Tinsley was at his girlfriend's apartment at the time. Police say they entered the home after hearing another gunshot and screaming and encountered Tinsley in a dark hallway holding what they believed was a weapon. He was shot by two officers and later died at a nearby hospital.
The Montgomery County district attorney determined the shooting was a lawful use of force under Pennsylvania law, but investigators determined Tinsley was unarmed.
Tinsley's family, however, paints a different picture — one in which police burst into the apartment and immediately opened fire.
"There is a lot of concerns we have about what we seen on those tapes," said Joseph Marrone of Marrone Law Firm.
The family says they've received limited information about the incident, haven't seen the full bodycam footage, and have yet to receive an autopsy report.
"The Abington Township Police Department and Montgomery County DA's office to this day refuse to release any bodycam video or 911 calls related to Mr. Tinsley's shooting," Marrone said. "This lack of transparency should outrage Abington Township residents and everyone who values accountability. What are they afraid of?"
The Willow Grove chapter of the NAACP, along with Tyree Wallace from Systemic Reformative Change, is also backing the Tinsley family, standing with them in their call for the full video release.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names the Township of Abington, Police Chief Patrick Molloy and multiple officers as defendants.
In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Molloy said the incident was a tragedy for everyone involved, including the 11-year-old girl who placed the 911 call, saying Tinsley had fired a gun at her mother.
Officers say they made several attempts to contact the victim and were preparing to use non-lethal force when they heard a second gunshot and broke into the apartment.
Police say Tinsley emerged from a bedroom appearing to be in a shooting stance, prompting officers to fire. A handgun was later recovered from the scene. In a statement, Molloy said the gun was found on a bed "a short distance away from where Mr. Tinsley had fallen."
Molloy defended the officers' actions, saying they followed training and policy in the face of a deadly threat. He also pushed back on the family's claim that they've been kept in the dark, noting that the family's attorneys were shown bodycam footage and allowed to listen to 911 recordings during a May 19 meeting.
"The Abington Township Police Department will not engage in a public debate regarding the merits of this case," Molloy said in the statement.
Tinsley's lawyers dispute Molloy's claims.
Abington Township Police said they would not release the video because it is now part of pending litigation.
For now, Tinsley's family says the only way to ensure justice and public trust is for authorities to release the footage in full.
