Bodycam footage shows veteran calmly telling police ‘death by cop doesn’t sound too bad’ moments before they spray him with bullets when he reached for his rifle
A retired US Army sergeant was caught on CCTV trying to calmly negotiate with police, refusing their orders moments before he was killed in an officer-involved shooting.
Trae Spurlock, 26, repeatedly told police in Casper, Wyoming that he refused to go to jail for domestic violence after admitting to pushing his girlfriend out the door on June 6.
He was seen in body camera footage released Monday repeatedly drinking and vaping while telling officers, “I don’t care, death by cop doesn’t sound that bad.”
The situation eventually escalated when he apparently tried to reach for a gun on a balcony behind him a few minutes later, and police hit him with a Taser and started firing seven shots.
He was struck six times and died from his injuries. Cowboy State Daily reports.
Trae Spurlock, 26, was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Casper, Wyoming on June 6
He told police he wasn’t going to jail, saying it’s ‘death by cop or not’
Police say they were first called to Spurlock’s apartment for a report of a disturbance around 9:30 p.m.
When officers arrived on scene, they spoke with a woman who claimed to be a victim of domestic violence.
Officers then tried to make contact with the suspect for five minutes without success, Casper police said.
When the victim then requested an escort to the apartment so she could grab some of her belongings, they found Spurlock shirtless and in pajama pants on the balcony – with a gun just a few feet away.
‘He is here. There’s a gun next to him,β one of the officers could be heard on the body camera footage.
At that moment, Spurlock walks through the sliding glass door to the balcony. He stops in the doorway and begins to confront the officers on the scene.
“You’re committing a foul, so I can shoot you,” Spurlock says matter-of-factly.
Police first encountered Spurlock as he sat on his balcony, shirtless and with a gun next to him
During his encounter with police, Spurlock could be seen drinking and vaping
Spurlock was then seen slamming the sliding glass door open even further as an officer tried to explain that they were only escorting his girlfriend.
“I don’t care, death by cop doesn’t sound that bad, but what do you want?” he answers.
The officers then ask what happened between him and his girlfriend, to which he replies, “I told her to get out, so I pushed her out.” She wouldn’t leave.’
Apparently one of the officers takes this in and starts asking Spurlock to step into the apartment and get away from the gun.
βIt’s behind me,β he points out.
βYes, about three steps behind you,β the officer shoots back.
Spurlock then appears to become defensive, telling the officers on the scene, “I’m not going to jail tonight – death by cop or not.”
‘I’ve been in a lot of gunfights in my life. I’m not afraid of another one,” he continues.
‘The point is, I’m not going to jail tonight, [I] refuse to. Take that as you will.β
Spurlock, a retired Army sergeant, repeatedly told police he refused to go to prison
Spurlock would then tell the officers that he could hit a target 300 yards away and that “that gun is three feet behind me.”
βHe can get his gun, she can get her gun faster than I can get the damn gun. So you are not in any immediate danger now,” he tries to reassure the officer, noting: “If I wanted to shoot you, I would [could have] I picked all three of you off this damn balcony.
βIf I wanted to kill you guys, it would be done before you walked out the goddamn door. You’ll be fine, just calm down,β he tells the police.
Spurlock eventually agrees to step into the apartment as the police back away, saying he would meet them halfway by closing the sliding glass door halfway.
But when the officer explains that his confession of pushing his girlfriend amounts to domestic violence and that he should go to jail, Spurlock starts talking about the process of being handcuffed and going to jail – reiterating that he not going to do. .
He told officers he’s been “involved in a lot of gunfights” and is “not afraid of another gunfight.”
The officer tries to reiterate that he wants to resolve the situation peacefully and asks Spurlock to “turn around for me and put your hands behind your back,” but Spurlock refused.
He then refused to go further into the apartment – and instead put his arm behind his back to grab the handle of the now half-closed sliding glass door.
Seeing this, one of the officers on the scene was heard warning him: “You’re going to be bagged” as he fled out the balcony door.
Police then acted quickly, deploying the Taser and firing seven gunshots as Spurlock fell to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, one of the officers was seen attempting to administer first aid as Spurlock lay in a fetal position, groaning.
Spurlock was shot and Tased after he refused to enter the apartment β and instead appeared to run for his gun
Spurlock is survived by three children, the Buffalo Bulletin reports.
His friend Ryan Sweeney described him in the aftermath as an “amazing person.”
βHe’s done a lot to show that through his actions, and he’s always been of service to other people,β Sweeney said.
Police have not identified the officer who fired the fatal shots, but say the officer has been placed on administrative leave while the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office investigate the shooting.