Newly released police body camera video shows a detective in a pickup truck firing a rifle through the windshield, killing a man officers mistakenly thought had a gun.
Twenty-two-year-old Sean Monterrosa was shot on June 2 in Vallejo by an officer who fired five times through a police car windshield, hitting Monterrosa once, authorities said.
Monterrosa was suspected of trying to steal from a drug store during a night of protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Vallejo Police Chief Shawny Williams says a detective thought Monterrosa was reaching for a gun. But he only had a 15-inch hammer tucked into the pocket of his sweatshirt.
The newly released video from the Police Department shows body-camera footage from three officers who were in an unmarked truck, responding to reports of stealing at a Walgreens.
The footage shows an officer shooting through the windshield as it shatters.
“What he points at us?” he then asks.
“I don’t know, man,” another officer is heard responding.
“Hey, he pointed a gun at us,” the officer who fired says.
Police are then heard yelling, “do not move” before they approach Monterrosa, who is seen lying motionless on the ground.
Monterrosa’s family and attorneys watched the video Wednesday and said they didn’t believe Monterrosa posed a threat to police.