Columbus police release full body cam footage from fatal shooting of Samuel Sharpe Jr.
New body camera video of Ohio police officers fatally shooting an armed man near King Park west of downtown Milwaukee reveals fresh details from the scene, including more of what the officers were discussing before the shooting and their efforts to provide care after they fired.
The police officers from Columbus were in Milwaukee for security at the Republican National Convention. They fatally shot Samuel Sharpe Jr., 42.
The new, longer videos confirm key details in the 31-second body cam video segment released hours after the shooting Tuesday: Sharpe was armed with two knives and was moving toward another man, 26, when 13 Columbus officers rushed over and five officers opened fire on him when he didn't follow police commands to drop the knives.
On Thursday, Columbus police released five roughly 10-minute clips of body cam footage, from each of the five officers who fired on Sharpe.
The Journal Sentinel reviewed the full footage.
What new body camera footage of Sharpe shooting shows
At about 1:30 p.m., 13 Columbus officers in armed and in uniforms and shorts and standing by their bicycles were gathered in the parking lot of King Park, which is about a mile from Fiserv Forum, where the RNC is being held. The officers were discussing protesters and issues they might encounter that day.
A few minutes into the footage, a couple of the officers glance toward W. Vliet Street, a busy east/west thoroughfare which leads into the head of the RNC secure area.
"They are fighting," one officer says.
"He's got a knife," another says.
"He does?" the first asks.
"Yes, he does!" the second officer says.
All 13 officers ran about 50 yards to the street where Sharpe and another man, both shirtless, are facing each other. Sharpe had knives in each hand, all the videos show.
Several officers immediately draw their firearms as they run over. At least one officer does not draw his weapon, at least not initially, one of the videos shows.
Several officers are yelling, "Police!" and "Drop the knife!" Sharpe looks briefly at the officers and then continues to move toward the other man, whose name has not been released.
After the officers fired, they yell, "Shots fired. Shots fired." And then one of the officers says, "Cameras on," which was a reminder for officers to activate their body cameras.
One of the officers puts on rubber gloves and says to Sharpe, "You're alright. Hang in there."
The officers handcuff Sharpe and then begin to put a wrap around his arm. In the background, Sharpe's hat and one of the knives is visible.
"We have a male pulseless and not breathing," one officer says.
A short time later, Milwaukee police officers arrive and take over live-saving attempts, which is protocol when police shoot an individual.
Officers can also be heard discussing the importance of securing the scene around them, as a crowd forms and people are yelling at them.
“That man didn’t do (expletive) to nobody!” one man yelled.
"He didn't touch anyone with that knife," another says.
"He was a good man, a good man," a third says.
The officers discuss doing chest compressions and the video goes black, but audio can still be heard.
The officers are then putting up police tape around the scene. The man who Sharpe was moving toward is handcuffed and put in a squad car.
As the Columbus officers reassemble, one says: “We are not to talk about anything, do you understand? Do not communicate anything on the phone. Body cameras still on until we’re told otherwise.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Police release full body cam footage of shooting of Samuel Sharpe Jr.
