Seattle police release body cam video of Queen Anne shooting
May 8, 2019, 8:22 PM | Updated: May 10, 2019, 1:01 pm
Two Seattle police officers shot and killed a man in a Queen Anne apartment while responding to a domestic violence call Wednesday night. Multiple investigations into the officer-involved shooting are now underway.
On Thursday evening, the Seattle Police Department released video of the incident, showing body cam footage of the shooting from the perspective of four different police officers. The man can be seen holding what appears to be a knife, and slowly walking toward officers as they yell “Hands up,” “Drop the knife,” and “Get on the ground.” A woman can be heard screaming in the background.
The video can be viewed here. Warning: The video is of a shooting and is graphic.
Four officers arrived to a third-story apartment in the 600 block of Third Avenue West shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday. A woman reported to 911 that she was hiding in the bathroom and that her boyfriend was trying to assault her. She reported that the boyfriend had a knife and he was still in the apartment.
Officers discovered an adult male armed with a knife at the apartment. Two officers fired, striking the man. He was declared dead at the scene.
No officers were injured. The woman who called 911 was also uninjured.
Body cam video released by the Seattle Police Department (SPD)
911 call
Seattle police also released the audio recording of the 911 call. A woman can be heard sobbing and telling dispatchers that her boyfriend was trying to kill her.
“Please get him out, I’ve been trying to get him to leave and he won’t leave, and he just keeps telling me that he’s going to kill me, and he has his knife out,” she tells the 911 operator.
“And he tackled me when I tried to call you earlier,” she added.
The woman tells the dispatcher that she was in the bathroom with the lights off, but the door does not lock. She said she was able to block the door, however. She then says that the boyfriend was threatening to kill himself and her after she was asking him to leave for hours.
“He’s saying there is blood everywhere,” she relays over the phone, saying she was not sure if he was injured or not, but he was saying he sees blood everywhere.
The woman informs the dispatcher that the man has “always been suicidal” and that “he needs help.” At one point she says she can hear the boyfriend “scraping at the door” and that has been pounding on the door.
“He’s waiting for the police to break the door down — I might live, OK,” she says.
Eventually, the officers can be heard in the distance, over the phone, yelling commands and attempting to kick the door down shortly before gun shots are heard.
Investigations
There are now two separate investigations into the officer-involved shooting. King County Sheriff’s Office will conduct its own investigation, which is in accordance with Initiative 940.
Seattle’s Office of Professional Accountability will also look into the incident.
The Seattle Police Force Investigation Team (FIT) will also conduct its own investigation into the shooting.
Seattle police now say they shot and killed a man who was armed with a knife, as they entered a Queen Anne apartment on a domestic violence call. Two officers fired, four were there. pic.twitter.com/DWwuuvRu4d
— Gary Horcher (@GaryKIRO7) May 9, 2019
KIRO 7 contributed to this report.
