The family of a man shot by a Selma Police officer in December is now asking to view the police video of the shooting.

Russell Ainsworth, a Chicago-based civil rights attorney, said Wednesday he is working with the family of Ananias Shaw to gain access to the video of Shaw’s death, which occurred Dec. 4, 2013.

“We think it makes sense that if police did nothing wrong, what is there to hide,” Ainsworth asked. “Show the video, if not to the public, at least to the family, and let them know what happened.”

An officer killed Shaw on Dec. 4 after he threatened the officer with a hatchet on Griffin Avenue.

The shooting was recorded on the officer’s video microphone, attached to his lapel.

The officer was responding to a disturbance call at the nearby Church’s Chicken on Broad Street, but found Shaw near the intersection of Washington Street and Griffin Avenue.

Shaw reportedly came toward the officer in a threatening manner, which resulted in the officer shooting Shaw.

As with any officer-related shooting, the incident was investigated by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and reviewed by a Dallas County grand jury. The grand jury found the officer acted correctly. District Attorney Michael Jackson said the police video was among the evidence shown to the grand jury.

Selma Chief of Police William T. Riley, said he fully agrees with the findings of the grand jury.

“The individual acted in a threatening manner toward the officer with the weapon, and the officer fired one shot,” Riley said. “He fired one single shot and that’s what he did. That shot stopped the threat.”

Riley would not comment about the ability of the family to view the video footage of the December shooting.

“As far as them getting the video, we are leaving that up to the city attorney,” Riley said.

Numerous calls and messages left for Selma City Attorney Jimmy Nunn were not returned Wednesday.

Ainsworth said he sees no reason why the family should not have access to the police video.

“The problem is that government would like to operate in secret,” Ainsworth said. “We think that transparency is the best means to ensure our government is operating property.”

Marvin and Valerie Shaw, son and daughter of Ananias Shaw, who live in Illinois, said they have both had difficulty following the case since neither live in Selma.

“We retained an attorney just to find out what happened, what transpired,” Valerie said. “We live in Illinois, so the way we figured out our father had passed was from a relative on social media.”

Speaking to the Times-Journal Wednesday, Valerie and Marvin both said they want to see the video simply to confirm the grand jury’s findings and bring closure to the difficult chapter of their lives.

“We just want to know what happened to our father.,” Marvin said. “That’s all.”