ST. PAUL, MN - The St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) have released body camera footage of the fatal officer-involved shooting of 36-year-old Mychel Stowers; a man suspect of killing his pregnant ex-wife.
According to CBS News, Stowers was shot by police near Watson Avenue and Bay Street during the afternoon on Saturday, November 9th. He was riding on a bicycle near a laundromat in the area. Police have since released video footage of the officer-involved shooting from three angles: the body-worn cameras of officers Eric Jaworski and Matthew Foy, as well as footage from the dash-cam of a patrol vehicle.
Video shows Foy driving the police car with Jaworski in the passenger seat carrying a long gun. According to the Minnesota Bureau (BCA) of Criminal Apprehension, Stowers "produced a handgun and pointed it at the officers." FOX9 reported that still frames in the video, provided by SPPD, show Stowers holding a weapon. The BCA also said a handgun was recovered at the scene.
The BCA said that Stowers was being sought in connection with the killing of his pregnant ex-wife in St. Paul. Police were acting on a top that he was at a business on the 1100 block of West Seventh street when they encountered a man who matched his description.
The BCA's initial investigation states that a man left the business on a bike and multiple squad cars converged on him as he reached the intersection of Watson Avenue and Bay Street. Before police could confirm his identity, the man, now identified as Stowers, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police.
Stowers was transported via ambulance to Regions Hospital, where he later died. No one else was injured in the incident. On Friday, November 15th, SPPD Chief Axel Henry said in a statement, "We are committed to the sanctity of the independent investigation; we are also committed to the transparency of our actions. That's why we are releasing the body-worn camera (BWC) and in car camera footage from this incident. No one wants apprehensions to result in the use of force of any kind.
Not using force is always our goal and is the outcome of the majority of our officers' interactions. We grieve with the families impacted, our community, and our officers. We hope that with working together as a community, we can prevent these outcomes in the future."
Jaworski and Foy both have 10 years of law enforcement experience. They have been placed on critical incident leave as is per protocol for officer-involved shootings. Retired police officer and use of force expert Joe Dutton believes both officers did the right thing and the newly released body camera footage from SPPD show it was a split-second decision.
He said, "To get two officers to shoot simultaneously at somebody you know they both saw the same thing. Their reaction was somebody pointing a gun at them."
Damara Stowers, who was eight to nine weeks pregnant, was shot and killed on October 19th inside her apartment in St. Paul. Mychel Stowers was on parole after spending more than a decade in prison for killing a man back in 2008. Court documents show that he was "granted a pass" to be at the apartment complex that night.
After Damara was shot, witnesses said a man ran south. Police received a call from a man saying he had been shot on Acker Street and that his car had been stolen. Documents say that Stowers called a Ramsey County Sheriff's Office employee to say he had just shot someone on Acker Street and he wanted to turn himself in. However, he did not do so.
Stowers was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of carjacking, and two counts of assault. The BCA is continuing its investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
According to CBS News, Stowers was shot by police near Watson Avenue and Bay Street during the afternoon on Saturday, November 9th. He was riding on a bicycle near a laundromat in the area. Police have since released video footage of the officer-involved shooting from three angles: the body-worn cameras of officers Eric Jaworski and Matthew Foy, as well as footage from the dash-cam of a patrol vehicle.
Video shows Foy driving the police car with Jaworski in the passenger seat carrying a long gun. According to the Minnesota Bureau (BCA) of Criminal Apprehension, Stowers "produced a handgun and pointed it at the officers." FOX9 reported that still frames in the video, provided by SPPD, show Stowers holding a weapon. The BCA also said a handgun was recovered at the scene.
The BCA said that Stowers was being sought in connection with the killing of his pregnant ex-wife in St. Paul. Police were acting on a top that he was at a business on the 1100 block of West Seventh street when they encountered a man who matched his description.
The BCA's initial investigation states that a man left the business on a bike and multiple squad cars converged on him as he reached the intersection of Watson Avenue and Bay Street. Before police could confirm his identity, the man, now identified as Stowers, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at police.
Stowers was transported via ambulance to Regions Hospital, where he later died. No one else was injured in the incident. On Friday, November 15th, SPPD Chief Axel Henry said in a statement, "We are committed to the sanctity of the independent investigation; we are also committed to the transparency of our actions. That's why we are releasing the body-worn camera (BWC) and in car camera footage from this incident. No one wants apprehensions to result in the use of force of any kind.
Not using force is always our goal and is the outcome of the majority of our officers' interactions. We grieve with the families impacted, our community, and our officers. We hope that with working together as a community, we can prevent these outcomes in the future."
Jaworski and Foy both have 10 years of law enforcement experience. They have been placed on critical incident leave as is per protocol for officer-involved shootings. Retired police officer and use of force expert Joe Dutton believes both officers did the right thing and the newly released body camera footage from SPPD show it was a split-second decision.
He said, "To get two officers to shoot simultaneously at somebody you know they both saw the same thing. Their reaction was somebody pointing a gun at them."
Damara Stowers, who was eight to nine weeks pregnant, was shot and killed on October 19th inside her apartment in St. Paul. Mychel Stowers was on parole after spending more than a decade in prison for killing a man back in 2008. Court documents show that he was "granted a pass" to be at the apartment complex that night.
After Damara was shot, witnesses said a man ran south. Police received a call from a man saying he had been shot on Acker Street and that his car had been stolen. Documents say that Stowers called a Ramsey County Sheriff's Office employee to say he had just shot someone on Acker Street and he wanted to turn himself in. However, he did not do so.
Stowers was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of carjacking, and two counts of assault. The BCA is continuing its investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
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Comments
2024-11-19T19:10-0500 | Comment by: James
So let's see it then .....