Posted on 05/04/2013 4:51:34 AM PDT by Las Vegas Dave
Middlefield Police have released the dash cam footage of the deadly March 10 officer-involved shooting in which a Mentor-on-the-Lake man was killed and two officers were injured.
The nearly 2 1/2 minute video begins by showing Officers Brandon Savage and Erin Thomas driving southbound at about 5:55 p.m. on Route 608, when a green Saturn failed to stop at the intersection of 608 and East High Street.
The officers enacted the traffic stop a short distance north of the intersection. As the officers prepared to approach the vehicle, the video appears to show the officers discussing movement in the Saturn.
“He’s hiding something,” Thomas can be heard saying.
Sitting in the passenger seat, she then exited the cruiser and circled back behind it to the driver side. Savage remained in the driver seat.
Before Thomas reached the front bumper of the cruiser, James Gilkerson, 42, quickly exited his vehicle and began firing on the officers with a FEG 7.62x39, commonly referred to as a AK-47 style semi-automatic rifle. About 45 seconds elapsed from when Gilkerson stopped his vehicle to when he exited and began firing.
Gilkerson can then be seen moving away from his vehicle out further into the middle of 608 and toward the police cruiser. After being hit by shots from Savage, Gilkerson moves back toward the Saturn repeatedly yelling, “Kill me.”
As Gilkerson drops to one knee still pointing his gun at the officers, Savage asks Thomas, “Are you hit?” Continued... ( if on line newspaper link does not work try this one, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pt9FS-dgS9s )
WARNING VERY GRAPHIC!
He held the AK variant like it was a full auto he could spray and pray, only it wasn’t....
Another link with longer video: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/05/middlefield_police_still_wonde.html
Plenty of anecdotal evidence that the “gunman” was deranged, yet they can’t resist blaming the evil “assault” weapon boogieman.
The Dude had some serious issues.
Good job of the cops for removing him from the streets - permanently.
Good thing they weren’t limited to 7 rd mags.
Must have slipped past the editor...
According to the media and politicians aren't all assault weapons fully auto...?
That aside...the police did a great job..in bringing down a dirt bag...
Plenty of anecdotal evidence that the “gunman” was deranged, yet they can’t resist blaming the evil “assault” weapon boogieman.
He was also a lousy shot.
Gerald Celente: “When people lose everything and have nothing left to lose, they lose it.”
“These AK-47s have got to go,” he said. “I could have lost two officers out there.”
What if the guy just waited for them to reach his car and used a shotgun or pistol? They are lucky he was not all that bright.
suicide by cop
He was 42. Did he have a criminal record, or did it just take a long time for him to go off the deep end?
Here is a practical use for a semi-auto gun:
Protecting yourself & family from wackos, just as these officers had to do.
ridence to the scum bag. Glad the cops both survived. I challenge ANYBODY to how they would react under the same circumstances.
What I found really interesting about it was the reaction of the perp as he was hit by bullets. None of this clutching of his chest and yelling, “you got me, copper!”, before he collapses, dead. People don’t realize that often times bullet hits are kinda like getting stabbed by a pencil. You can take quite a few before it becomes a problem, assuming no head or vital organ shots. Especially with lots of adrenalin.
The response by the white car was interesting.
BTW, I had to look for the stop sign he ran. What a stupid intersection. It means everyone taking a right there, even if the light was green for straight, has to stop. That should have been a yield sign.
I hate intersections like that.
Apparently this guy did too.
Actually the article states that one officer had multiple shrapnel injuries to multiple parts of his body and the other officer lost her left index finger.
Thanks. The longer video shows the entire shootout. I’d say the officers kept pretty cool under the circumstances.
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