South Alabama student reacts to video

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Three University of South Alabama Students watched the surveillance footage of the shooting death of 18-year-old Gil Collar.

Campus police said Collar, a freshman, was naked and charged an officer early Saturday morning. The officer fired into his chest, killing him.

Most of the incident was captured on a USAPD camera. Sheriff Sam Cochran allowed members of the media to view the footage Thursday, which included USA student journalists.

One of the student journalists for the campus newspaper, The Vanguard, spoke to FOX10 News about watching the footage.

“It’s a whole other experience for me, because as a student it's awful that a fellow student has died on campus. And as a reporter, a young reporter it's something that I have never been exposed to before and it's eye opening,” said JT Crabtree.

Crabtree said he saw Collar's behavior go from confused to erratic. He said Collar pursued Officer Trevis Austin.

"After watching both times, it appeared that the officer was really left with no choice,” said Crabtree.

Crabtree recalled what caught him most by surprise.

“I think the most shocking moment is when you first see Gil collapse and then he gets back up, and he still goes after the officer for about another 15 seconds,” said Crabtree.

The Vanguard Editor in Chief of Cassie Fambro also watched the video. She's been monitoring student reaction since Collar was killed. For her, the video was a haunting reminder.

In a blog post she wrote in part:

"I went and stood where Gil died. People are fighting each other about this case and forgetting that a person died. Perhaps you should go stand there and think about it.”

For Crabtree, the area around the campus police department will remind him of what happened between an officer and a student.

"Every time I drive by it's going to be like, 'This is where it all happened.' Hopefully there will be more memories, better memories, that can replace that,” said Crabtree.