Bodycam shows Willie McCoy sleeping before cops shot him
- 5 years ago
VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA — Vallejo Police have released body cam footage of the fatal shooting of rapper Willie McCoy, following demands of transparency from his family and friends.
According to the New York Times, the February 10 incident began with a 911 call from a Taco Bell employee, who reported an unresponsive man inside a silver Mercedes Benz stopped in the drive-thru.
Bodycam video shows that officers who arrived at the scene found McCoy in his car, and spotted a gun in his lap. They soon realized that the gun did not have a magazine in it, with one officer noting that it would only fire a single bullet.
Officers at one point hatched a plan to open the car, grab the gun, and pull McCoy out of the vehicle. But finding the doors locked, they instead moved their patrol cars to box in the Benz.
According to the Guardian, they didn't attempt to wake him up or talk to him, and instead aimed their firearms outside the car as he slept.
Eventually, McCoy began to stir, and can be seen in the video using a hand to scratch his left shoulder. Seconds after yelling at him to raise his arms, all six officers fired their weapons at him.
According to USA Today, police had justified the incident in a February news release saying they were 'fearing for their safety.' But the body cam footage shows otherwise.
According to the New York Times, the February 10 incident began with a 911 call from a Taco Bell employee, who reported an unresponsive man inside a silver Mercedes Benz stopped in the drive-thru.
Bodycam video shows that officers who arrived at the scene found McCoy in his car, and spotted a gun in his lap. They soon realized that the gun did not have a magazine in it, with one officer noting that it would only fire a single bullet.
Officers at one point hatched a plan to open the car, grab the gun, and pull McCoy out of the vehicle. But finding the doors locked, they instead moved their patrol cars to box in the Benz.
According to the Guardian, they didn't attempt to wake him up or talk to him, and instead aimed their firearms outside the car as he slept.
Eventually, McCoy began to stir, and can be seen in the video using a hand to scratch his left shoulder. Seconds after yelling at him to raise his arms, all six officers fired their weapons at him.
According to USA Today, police had justified the incident in a February news release saying they were 'fearing for their safety.' But the body cam footage shows otherwise.