The Oklahoma City Police Department released body cam footage this week showing a suspect fleeing from police before being tackled by officers and later dying.
Police officers detained Derrick Scott, 42, on May 20, 2019, after receiving a report of a man wielding a gun and threatening others in the area. After an initial chase, officers held Scott to the ground for about 13 minutes until paramedics arrived to take Scott to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later.
Officer bodycam footage of the incident was released on Monday at the request of a Black Lives Matter group in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City Police Capt. Larry Withrow called a conference on Tuesday to walk through the video and take questions on the tactics used by his officers.
Scott ran away from officers as they approached him. One officer was able to catch and tackle Scott and was able to keep him on the ground until several more officers arrived.
“They were able to handcuff the suspect and get his hands under control. They rolled him over and were able to begin searching him where they located a loaded firearm in his front pants pocket,” Withrow said.
While the officers struggled with Scott, he said “I can’t breathe,” to which one officer responded, “I don’t care.” Later in the video, Scott appears to go unconscious and another officer says that he is faking.
“It’s not uncommon for people when you are struggling with them or when you are trying to get them under control to say ‘I cant breathe.’ You hear that frequently,” Withrow told reporters. “If they are still struggling and they are fighting with you and they are talking with you, it makes you wonder are they really having difficulty breathing or are they just trying to get away.”
Withrow said that after officers saw that Scott was in trouble and needed medical attention, they called paramedics “immediately.” Officer bodycam footage shows Scott trying to kick officers and paramedics as they tried to place him on a gurney to place him in an ambulance.
Doctors at the hospital later pronounced Scott dead from a collapsed lung and said physical restraint, recent methamphetamine use, asthma, bullous emphysema, and atherosclerotic heart disease were contributing factors, according to The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater reviewed the footage last year as part of an investigation into the incident and sent a note to Police Chief Wade Gourley saying the officers “did exactly what they should have done under the circumstances and handled the call very well,” according to Tulsa World.
Vickey Scott, Derek Scott’s mother, reviewed the footage and said officers’ “treated him like he was an animal” and should “be convicted of killing my son,” according to Tulsa World.
“He was trying to get his breath. He was trying to breathe, and they ignored him the whole time, like he was nothing. They even treat animals better than they treated my son,” Scott said. “I want every mother to watch that … and imagine that’s your son’s last so many minutes of life and he’s dying and they’re saying that he’s faking.”
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