Des Plaines 911 call and body cam video of fatal police shooting that killed Scott MacDonald
By: 0:00 - 911 call
4:20 - Body cam
-----
Bodycam video showing the moments leading up to a deadly police shooting in Des Plaines has been released.
Des Plaines police were responding to a 911 call about a man having some sort of psychotic episode, and found 55-year-old Scott MacDonald in the hallway of a condo building, holding an axe.
Police said he approached officers in a threatening way with the axe before an officer opened fire, killing him.
Police said the cirstances that justified them opening fire were all caught on bodycam video, which was released Thursday.
"You may not have time to talk to that individual. If someone is rushing at you with a weapon, if it's a firearm, if it's a knife, if it's a club, whatever it may be, you may not have time to talk that person down. You may have to resort to force," said Bill Kushner, ABC7 police affairs consultant/P4Security.
Kushner is also a former chief of Des Plaines police. He said Des Plaines PD have extensive de-escalation training, and the body camera video and shooting investigation will bear out whether more could or should have been done to avoid lethal force.
"Would the Taser have worked? It may or may not have. Was the officer willing to risk his life in that split second? It was probably a reactive decision," Kushner said.
A friend told ABC7, MacDonald's father had recently passed away, he had just gotten out of a romantic relationship and had a history of discussing suicide.
The officer who fired the shots has been with Des Plaines police for just over two years, and is on leave while an outside investigation continues.