Vallejo, California police have been under fire since the shooting death of aspiring rapper Willie McCoy, 20, who they confronted while he unresponsive in his car.
Vallejo PD has since released the graphic bodycam footage at the request of the victim’s family and media pressure, despite initially not wanting to make the video public claiming there was an ongoing investigation.
On February 9, McCoy aka “Willie Bo”, went to a Taco Bell drive-thru where he may have been asleep with a gun in his lap. Police arrived on the scene where they surrounded the car and shot McCoy multiple times after he appeared to move his arm downward.
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According to NBC News, a 30-minute video begins with an explanation of the Vallejo Police Department’s version of events on that night. Vallejo police also separately released raw footage taken from all six of the officers who fired their weapons.
The video package included different angles of the shooting, but does not show McCoy’s face nor the gun that was in his lap, but NBC notes that one officer mentions noticing that the gun’s magazine was half out and believed that only one bullet could have been fired. Police subtitles in the video suggest the gun was loaded with an extended 14-round magazine.
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During the course of the interaction, the officers can be heard trying to figure out how to retrieve the gun. One officer says, “If he reaches for it,” then nods his head. While the other officer says, “Yep.” When they tried to open the driver’s side door, it was locked.
The attorneys for the family called this into question, mentioning how McCoy’s passenger side door would have given them access to the car as its window, previously broken, merely had a plastic sheet covering it.
Once the video speeds up, the officers begin shouting, “show me your hands!” McCoy briefly comes to, visibly moving his arm and within a few seconds, he was shot 25 times. After shooting him, the officers continue to order him to show his hands and the video cuts out as another officer approaches.
“Overkill is an understatement,” attorney Melissa Nold told NBC News.
The six officers involved have been identified as Collin Eaton, Bryan Glick, Jordon Patzer, Anthony Romero-Cano, Mark Thompson and Ryan McMahon.
According to NBC, McMahon was also involved in a fatal shooting on Feb. 13, 2018, and Thompson has been named in an excessive force complaint filed last year.
The District Attorneys Office has yet to decide if the officers involved followed protocol, but McCoy’s family filed a claim against the city last month.
