Dallas police release bodycam video of fatal shooting – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia released bodycam video on Monday of the moments before the fatal officer-involved shooting.

Garcia said Monday afternoon a woman called 911 and said a man with a knife and machete had cut her and threatened her and a dog. During the call, the woman was heard calling for help and she told police they were in a tent in a wooded area behind an apartment complex at 5850 Beltline Road.

When officers arrived around 6:45 p.m., they walked through the woods to the camp, where they found the man and woman in a large tent. The man, police said, was holding a knife and the woman said she was injured.

Garcia said officers ordered the man, identified Monday as 34-year-old Cody Watkins, to drop the weapon and leave the tent, but he refused. After repeatedly demanding to leave the tent, the woman left the tent and was escorted away by officers.

Other officers continued to try to persuade Watkins to drop the knife and leave the tent, but Garcia said he continued to refuse.

In addition to talking to the man, Garcia said, officers tried several non-lethal methods to get him to surrender, including stun guns, pepper spray and foam bullets, but none of them were effective.

After speaking with the man for about 50 minutes, Watkins yelled at the police officers, according to Garcia: “Then why don’t you all just kill me?” According to Garcia, Watkins then stormed toward the police officers with the knife in his hand.

Garcia said two officers fired at the man, hitting him at least once. Officers then administered first aid until Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedics arrived to take him to the hospital. Watkins died around 8:50 p.m., Garcia said.

“I think one of the causes is that the person was armed with a knife. He did not comply with orders to back away. They tried to calm him down. They used a taser and less lethal foam grenades on the person, but still nothing worked,” Garcia said.

The police chief released an edited video showing body camera footage from several officers. In the video, the officers can be seen approaching the camp and heard ordering both the man and woman to leave the tent and for the man to drop the knife. After trying pepper spray, a stun gun and non-lethal rounds, all of which were ineffective, the officers shot Watkins when he approached them with the knife. In the video, the officers can be seen administering first aid after the shooting.

“Obviously they used less-lethal weapons and they were not effective. So if that individual had decided to rush out and stab one of my officers, they would have had no reason to believe that the less-lethal weapons would have had any effect because they had no effect before. So they chose to do that to protect their lives,” Garcia said. “It’s a tragedy for everybody.”

The woman was also taken to hospital for minor injuries and is expected to recover.

Garcia said Watkins has a criminal history, including assault, domestic violence, fraud, illegal carrying of a weapon and several drug offenses.

“There was one person who dictated the outcome of the matter, and that was the person who stormed out of the tent with a knife to get my officers. It’s a tragedy. We don’t want it to end like this. I’ve spoken to my officers and it’s a tragedy for them too.”

This is the second fatal shooting involving Dallas Police this year. Garcia said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and is being handled by the Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit. The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office has been notified and has gone to the scene and will be conducting its own investigation. The Office of Community Police Oversight has also been notified and has gone to the scene.