- Seattle police shot and killed a man in Rainier Valley after he pointed a gun at officers, newly released bodycam video shows.
- Bodycam footage shows officers repeatedly ordering the man to drop his weapon before firing.
- An independent investigation by the King County Sheriff’s Office is underway to assess the use of force.
SEATTLE – New video shows the moments that led up to Seattle police officers shooting and killing a man in the Rainier Valley neighborhood earlier this week.
The backstory:
It happened on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 2, after police received reports of a man waving a gun on South Othello Street.
Multiple 911 calls came in about the man’s behavior before police arrived on scene.
“Hey you guys better send somebody quick, there’s a dude walking up the hill on Othello,” one caller told dispatch. “He’s got a gun in his hands and he’s just pointing it at everybody driving by.”
Police bodycam video shows the man walking toward police, pointing a gun, as an officer yells, “Drop it, drop it, drop the gun.”
He doesn’t drop the gun, and soon after, the officers fire their weapons, one using a handgun and the other a rifle.
In a matter of seconds, the man falls to the ground, but not before sitting back up and aiming the gun at police again. An officer then shoots the man again, and he falls back to the ground for the last time.
Officers rendered aid, however the man died at the scene.
A second bodycam video shows an officer approaching the scene as the first officer is yelling for the man to drop his gun. Both officers could be heard on scene shooting.
Police said no officers were hurt in the shooting.
What’s next:
Under state law, an independent investigation led by the King County Sheriff’s Office is now underway and will determine whether the use of deadly force was used in good faith in this police shooting.
