WFAA 8 News – by Demond Fernandez
DALLAS — Graphic body-camera video of the June 2014 Dallas police shooting of a mentally-ill man armed with a screwdriver was released Monday.
The clip, provided by local attorney Geoff Henley, is the first body-camera footage released of an officer-involved shooting in Dallas.
The 18 minute recording shows a couple of patrol officers walking up to a home on the 200 block of Glencairn Drive in Oak Cliff on June 14, 2014.
A woman wearing an orange shirt answered the door after calling police for help about her mentally ill son, Jason Harrison. Family members said it was not the first time they’ve called police for help controlling the man.
“Bi-polar and schizo,” Harrison’s mom could be heard telling police as she stepped away from the house.
Harrison, 38, was standing in the doorway holding a screwdriver.
Things quickly escalated. Within seconds, police are seen on the video drawing guns and ordering Harrison to put down the tool.
Several shots were fired by officers.
Harrison was then seen stumbling from the doorway toward the garage. He fell over. Blood began flowing from his body, as police used their radios to call for help.
One officer is seen on the video saying: “He was in the doorway. He had a screwdriver. We had this behind us and we had to shoot.”
The officers claim Harrison lunged toward them with the tool.
Harrison’s family is now working with attorney Geoff Henley. They’ve filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the two officers who responded to the home. They claim the officers violated Harrison’s civil rights.
“When you’re dealing with somebody who is mentally ill, you’re not supposed to agitate,” Henley said. “You’re not supposed to move fast… you’re not supposed to inflame.”
David Harrison, the mentally ill man’s older brother, was also at the news conference where Henley released the body camera video. He criticized the officers’ actions.
“They didn’t acknowledge him… they just acknowledged the screwdriver,” Harrison said. “As soon as [my mother] got out of the way, [the officers said] ‘I need you to put that down, sir!’ It went from zero to 100.”
The video shows the officers wearing stun guns in their holsters, but they are never mentioned… or used in an attempt to subdue Harrison.
Chris Livingston, an attorney for the officers, called the shooting justified because Harrison is seen lunging toward the police. The officers remain on active duty.
Dallas police issued a statement saying its criminal investigation was completed, and the case has been forwarded to the Dallas County District Attorney’s office.
The case has not yet been heard by a grand jury.
These pig bastards did nothing to defuse the situation. All they had to do to ensure their safety was back away from the door where this guy was standing. Cops are trained to shoot and kill without a second thought. Notice how they leave the guy bleeding out and spend their time contacting their union and covering their pathetic asses, laughing because they know they are immune from the law. Granted, this guy had head issues and more than likely should have been in an institution, and granted, the family should not have called the police, but this shooting was completely preventable.
SSDD. Any student of martial arts learn a number of diarmament techniques that could have been applied, but I guess its more fun for the uniformed psychopaths to shoot someone rather than to endanger themselves.
Never let a American cop on your property! Speak to them, call them, or have any thing to do with them!
Endanger themselves
I looked very closely did you see that HUGE screwdriver why taken out of the holder I believe the actual metal part to be a WHOPPING 3 inches. For most cops if he really lunged would be thru skin and 2/12 inches of FAT.
What a ruse. The day cometh for them too and we won’t have to do a thing they will be brutalized by thugs right where they live and work when the SHTF. Wait and see. The Government will not protect them, no one will.
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so that’s what the body cams are for.
“Harrison, 38, was standing in the doorway holding a screwdriver.
Things quickly escalated. Within seconds, police are seen on the video drawing guns and ordering Harrison to put down the tool.”
Yep. Because apparently, the police can’t even defend themselves against a simple screwdriver these days. They now need to break out their guns and kill a person over it. And they call themselves cops?
Unfrigginbelievable……
Pretty soon, they’ll be afraid of someone waving a shoe at them and shooting them, too. How do they live with themselves? I just don’t get it. They’re psychopaths. Plain and simple.
If you’re stupid enough to call the cops these days, at least have the common sense to call the coroner immediately after.