Bodycam Shows Police Fatally Shoot Man Holding Hammer
- 8 years ago
A man wielding a hammer in the direction of Tahlequah police officers said "someone's gonna die tonight" shortly before the officers used deadly force against him, the police chief said. Police chief Nate King said during a Friday news conference that although an outside investigation is pending, he believes the officers' actions were "necessary, not just justified" because the man, 49-year-old Dominic Rollice of Park Hill, escalated the situation and made the officers fear for their lives. "A reasonable officer would have sensed a clear and present danger to them and to their other officers," he said of the situation, saying he felt confident making that judgment before the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation completes its evaluation of the incident.
The department held the conference to release body camera footage and a 911 call related to the shooting one week after Lt. Brandon Vick and Officer Josh Girdner fired a combined six shots at Rollice when he refused multiple requests to drop a hammer he had pointed toward them and Officer Chase Reed. The 15-minute video from Reed's body camera shows that the officers commanded Rollice to drop the hammer at least eight times, and that Rollice repeatedly said "No." Vick has worked nearly 10 years of law enforcement; Reed and Girdner have about three and five years of experience, respectively. While Girdner and Vick fired at Rollice, Reed simultaneously deployed his Taser, causing Rollice to drop to the ground, King said. After the shooting occurred, Reed could be seen and heard rendering aid to Rollice, including administering CPR, before an ambulance arrived.
Girdner's body camera malfunctioned, and the memory on Vick's camera filled up before he responded to the call involving Rollice, King said. The audio from Reed's camera can't be heard until about 30 seconds after the footage begins. All Tahlequah police officers have been required to wear body cameras since August 2014. The officers arrived at a home in the 400 block of Shawnee Court just after 9:30 p.m. Aug. 12 after receiving a call from a woman who said that her ex-husband Rollice refused to leave her garage. "He's drunk, and it's gonna get ugly real quick," the woman could be heard telling a 911 dispatcher. The dispatcher replied that police would jail Rollice on a public intoxication complaint if they went to her home, and she said she wanted him to be taken into custody.
"In fact, he's a registered sex offender," the woman said. "He lives in Park Hill. He's got tools in the garage, but he doesn't live here." Rollice, in the video, could be heard saying, "I'm in my house; I'm doing nothing wrong," and telling Reed that he saw the Taser that was pointed at him. After noticing Reed's Taser, Rollice moved his right arm backward in a move that King said indicated a possible intent to attack Reed, who was set to use less-lethal force. The other two officers had their service weapons drawn, which is when Reed decided to employ a non-deadly
The department held the conference to release body camera footage and a 911 call related to the shooting one week after Lt. Brandon Vick and Officer Josh Girdner fired a combined six shots at Rollice when he refused multiple requests to drop a hammer he had pointed toward them and Officer Chase Reed. The 15-minute video from Reed's body camera shows that the officers commanded Rollice to drop the hammer at least eight times, and that Rollice repeatedly said "No." Vick has worked nearly 10 years of law enforcement; Reed and Girdner have about three and five years of experience, respectively. While Girdner and Vick fired at Rollice, Reed simultaneously deployed his Taser, causing Rollice to drop to the ground, King said. After the shooting occurred, Reed could be seen and heard rendering aid to Rollice, including administering CPR, before an ambulance arrived.
Girdner's body camera malfunctioned, and the memory on Vick's camera filled up before he responded to the call involving Rollice, King said. The audio from Reed's camera can't be heard until about 30 seconds after the footage begins. All Tahlequah police officers have been required to wear body cameras since August 2014. The officers arrived at a home in the 400 block of Shawnee Court just after 9:30 p.m. Aug. 12 after receiving a call from a woman who said that her ex-husband Rollice refused to leave her garage. "He's drunk, and it's gonna get ugly real quick," the woman could be heard telling a 911 dispatcher. The dispatcher replied that police would jail Rollice on a public intoxication complaint if they went to her home, and she said she wanted him to be taken into custody.
"In fact, he's a registered sex offender," the woman said. "He lives in Park Hill. He's got tools in the garage, but he doesn't live here." Rollice, in the video, could be heard saying, "I'm in my house; I'm doing nothing wrong," and telling Reed that he saw the Taser that was pointed at him. After noticing Reed's Taser, Rollice moved his right arm backward in a move that King said indicated a possible intent to attack Reed, who was set to use less-lethal force. The other two officers had their service weapons drawn, which is when Reed decided to employ a non-deadly