Police release body-cam video of Willie McCoy killing, showing him asleep in car
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/29/willie-mccoy-police-shooting-video-vallejo
Vallejo police have released footage of the killing of Willie McCoy at a Taco Bell, showing six officers shooting the 20-year-old who was sleeping in his car.
The disturbing body-camera videos show the young rapper had moved his hand to scratch his shoulder before officers opened fire. The footage is consistent with key claims of McCoy’s family, who watched footage earlier this month and said the officers “executed” him while he was not alert or awake. The videos, released after significant pressure, show:
The officers did not try to wake McCoy up or talk to him after they spotted a gun in his lap, and instead pointed their firearms at his head directly outside the car as he slept for several minutes.
One officer said: “I’m going to pull him out and snatch his ass.”
The officers then realized the firearm did not have a magazine in it, noting to each other that if it was loaded, it would have a single bullet in it: “He’s only got one shot if he shoots.”
The officers then appeared to make a plan to fire at him, with one saying: “If he reaches for it, you know what to do.”
McCoy eventually started to move, scratching his shoulder and not yet appearing alert or saying anything to officers, and several seconds later, all six officers fired at him.
Vallejo police officials slowed down the video in the final seconds before the shootings, adding a caption that said “hand reaches to gun on lap”. The videos of the 9 February incident, however, are blurry in that moment and show McCoy’s body moving slightly, but do not capture his hand moving to the firearm, which is not visible in the footage.
Marc McCoy, Willie’s older brother, told the Guardian on Friday that he was glad the public would finally see the video, but was not confident it would lead to justice.
“There’s a thousand videos on YouTube that show police misconduct, whether it’s beatings of citizens or killing them,” said Marc, 50. “It gets dismissed … The Vallejo police saw the video, and they don’t think there’s anything wrong with it or that the officers did anything criminal.”
The police department in Vallejo, 30 miles north-east of San Francisco, has repeatedly claimed that the six officers fired out of “fear for their own safety”. The footage, however, shows some of them talking somewhat calmly for nearly five minutes before they opened fire. Two officers began shooting almost immediately after they arrived on scene as backup.
After the officers stopped shooting, they all kept their guns pointed at the car, shouting: “Let me see your hands! Put your hands up!” One said: “Officers are OK.”
Police hit Willie with an estimated 25 shots, including in his face, throat, chest, ear and arms. John Burris, the family’s lawyer, showed reporters graphic photos of Willie’s body at a news conference Friday, saying: “He was shot to pieces.”
He said he plans to soon file a civil rights lawsuit against the officers and police agency.
“They were never trying to be peaceful or de-escalate the situation. It’s about being rough and tough,” said Marc, adding that the police’s plan seemed to be “‘If he moves, I’m gonna kill him’”.
Police also released audio of the 911 call, which came from a Taco Bell employee, who did not express concerns about the driver being threatening or having a gun, but simply said a man was “unresponsive” in his car in the drive-thru: “I’ve already had people try to knock on the window. I have no idea what’s going on.”
His family has said police should have treated this like a medical emergency.
“We all have to come together in some way and put pressure on the politicians to hold police accountable,” added Marc. “It’s crazy that police still have these jobs. It’s crazy that as a country we are not outraged by this conduct.”
One of the officers who fired at Willie had previously shot and killed an unarmed man and is the subject of an ongoing excessive force lawsuit. A second officer was previously sued in a police brutality case. The officers have not commented on the shooting.
Melissa Nold, another attorney for the family, told the Guardian the video made clear that police had no plan to safely handle the situation.
“There’s no attempt to preserve human life,” she said. “It’s terrible to watch … Everyone’s takeaway is he should not have died.”
Police had repeatedly refused to release the video, only giving a private viewing to three relatives and barring their attorney from watching it. But the department published it Friday following a records request and intensifying backlash.
Police officials did not give the family or their attorney a heads-up about their decision to release the video, said Nold, saying it caught them off-guard.
“It’s just a continuing of the insult to injury, the continuous disrespect,” she said. “They’re having to relive it without warning. It’s cruel.”
Willie was a beloved rapper in the Bay Area, whose career was on the rise when police killed him.
He had recently returned from a tour with his group and was likely fatigued that evening, said David Harrison, Willie’s cousin. The video, he said, made clear that Willie was a “sitting duck in that car” and police “didn’t want to give him a chance”.
He added: “This was a racist act.”