MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The information is still limited regarding the death of a man on I-81 after a struggle with West Virginia State Police in February. It’s one of three incidents that are part of an ongoing investigation into the agency that saw its superintendent resign abruptly last week.
Regarding the February 12th death of 44-year-old Edmond Exline of Hagerstown Gov. Jim Justice said he viewed bodycam footage. “To be perfectly honest, concerning to say the least,” Justice said.
But, he said, “You’ve got a trooper, in the dark, with somebody walking down the interstate — which they shouldn’t be there at all. But somebody’s walking down the interstate and a trooper in the dark with traffic flying by at 80 miles an hour. Now granted, these people are supposed to be trained to be able to handle all this.”
Justice said local prosecutors have asked for video not to be released right now, but the governor said the video should be released in the future.
“I promise you the situation on I-81 does not look good,” he said. “That’s all there is to it.”
Metronews Statewide Correspondent Brad McElhinny talked about the case on Thursday’s Panhandle Live:
McElhinny previously filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get access to the bodycam footage, but has been denied:
Last week, the governor said the inquiries involved video recordings in a State Police women’s locker room several years ago, the more recent destruction of a hard drive where some of those recordings had been stored, an inquiry over a trooper who walked away with an envelope of money at a casino, and an active investigation over a death along Interstate 81 involving troopers.