Police have been accused of 'illegally seizing' the best CCTV recording of Alton Sterling being shot dead by two white cops.
A full recording of the death of the black man being shot by two police officers was taken by his colleagues hours later.
The death of Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, early on Tuesday morning, has already caused controversy after two cameraphone videos emerged showing his final moments.
But Daily Mail Online can disclose that there is a third, comprehensive recording on closed-circuit television of the shooting.
It can also be revealed the recording was not just downloaded by police - but they seized the recording equipment itself without showing a search warrant to the shop owner.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Perfect view: The two CCTV cameras (circled) cover the Triple S Food Mart lot where Alton Sterling was killed by police early on Tuesday morning as he lay on the ground at the circled handicapped parking sign
System: The only remaining equipment from the CCTV system is its cameras. The central recording unit was taken by police in its entirety, with the shop owner's lawyer telling Daily Mail Online that there was no warrant
Last minutes: Adbullah Muflahi captured - on his iPhone - the shooting of his friend Alton Sterling. His shop's CCTV also captured the shooting but was entirely seized by police, his lawyer says 'illegally'
Legal action: Shop owner Adbullah Muflahi (left) and his attorney Joel Porter (right) want the footage returned so it can be made public. It was described to Muflahi by one officer as the 'best evidence'
Baton Rouge Police Department are now facing legal demands to return the seized equipment to the shop owner, who wants to make it public and whose lawyer accuses the force of 'spiriting it away'.
The CCTV recording would fill in vital gaps in the sequence of events captured on cell phones.
It is likely the recording is now in the hands of the FBI, who are investigating the shooting by the officers.
The cameras' owner Abdullah Muflahi said police told him his store security system was the best evidence available to the investigation.
But Muflahi said he was angered that the security surveillance footage was being withheld from public view.
Dead: Alton Sterling was killed following the confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning
It was taken from his shop by police around 7.30am on Tuesday morning. He had spoken to police for three hours as a witness and given a lengthy statement.
But he told Daily Mail Online that although officers said they had a warrant to take anything relevant to their investigation, they did not show him it - and have not produced one since.
'I am talking to my lawyer and he is writing to the police that the film should be given to me so I can let the world see it too,' Muflahi, 28, told Daily Mail Online.
'They can see how my friend was murdered for nothing. There can be no cover up in this. This camera has got the whole story and the world demands it.
'They took away the whole system while I was giving them a statement and they wouldn't let me into my shop.'
It has been reported that the officers and their union representatives are set to claim the shooting was justified.
Sterling was carrying a gun, but it appeared to have been removed after the shooting by an officer.
The two officers involved in the shooting have both been suspended, and the whole department's actions are now subject to FBI and Department of Justice scrutiny.
Joel Porter, the store keeper's attorney said: ‘This was an illegal confiscation. The police had no warrant.
‘If there was a warrant issued to enter my client’s premises and take the video, it would have been a matter of record.
‘I have been in touch with the clerk of the court at Baton Rouge and there is no record of the warrant being issued.
‘My client was held in a police car for around three hours and that was illegal too. He was not a suspect.
Police identified the two cops involved in the shooting on Wednesday as four-year-veteran Blane Salamoni (left) and three-year-veteran Howie Lake II (right)
Run-up: The shopkeeper's video captured the moments before police opened fire on Alton Sterling outside his shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday
Weapon drawn: One of the officers is seen removing his handgun from its holster as Alton Sterling's head is raised from the ground
Aftermath: The officer can be seen lying on the ground after discharging his weapon
'There is a lot that has been done by Baton Rouge Police Department and I am waiting for some answers.'
As he spoke at the scene of the shooting Sterling's aunt Veda McClister cried loudly saying: 'I saw my nephew's blood on this spot and went right down to the drain and the pavement.
'Right where your knees are right now, that was where his blood was.
'I am never going to forget what I saw. I will never be myself again.'
She said she was certain that police suspicion of 'all black people' led to her nephew's death.
'He weren't doing any wrong. Just selling his CDs. The police department are murderers.
'Justice has to prevail. You kill one you should kill us all, because we are not going to stop.
'I think they should bring those two cops out here and let me whoop the brains out of them.
'But that's just my mind and just me saying.
'I think they should go to jail for the rest of their lives. They should lock them up.
'Next time it could be somebody else's shop. It was somebody else last night in Minnesota. It has to be stopped.'
Asked what she thought was the reason for the shooting, she said: 'Because they don't like black folks. They don't like the color of my skin. They don't like how my hair is.
'I am humble as a lamb, but they are scared to talk to me. Don't judge me by the color of my skin.'
Comforted: The dead man's aunt Veda McClister cried loudly saying: 'I saw my nephew's blood on this spot and went right down to the drain. I am never going to forget what I saw. I will never be myself again.'