KPD releases bodycam of William McBride Jr. deadly police shooting at Fountain City gas station
By: The Knoxville Police Department released body camera footage on Wednesday of police shooting a man armed with two knives at a Fountain City gas station on April 17.
The footage released by KPD started by saying Seth Beeler, the responding KPD officer, went to the Exxon gas station on North Broadway at around 5:30 p.m. after calls about a disturbance. KPD said a man, later identified as William Charles McBride Jr., was acting erratically and "potentially violently" inside the store.
"He has a knife out. He has a knife out," a person in a green hoodie said at the start of the video when Beeler stepped out of his police cruiser.
In the video, the officer took out his gun and opened the door to the store. McBride was seen inside near the entryway, and the officer took a few steps back. A person was seen behind McBride, facing the counter.
"Come out. Come out right now," Beeler said. "Get down on your knees!"
As Beeler spoke, McBride quickly left the store with two knives in his hands, appearing to lunge out of the door toward the person in the green hoodie. The person in the hoodie ran. Beeler fired his gun twice, and McBride collapsed to the ground.
"Get down on your face," Beeler said.
McBride was heard groaning near an SUV as he turned around onto his stomach. Beeler kept his gun trained on him while McBride continued moaning. Around a minute after the shooting, McBride sounded like he was breathing heavily.
"Crawl out, crawl out to me. Get out from under this car," Beeler said.
The person in the hoodie who told Beeler that McBride had the knives was seen walking back into the store. Beeler started instructing people to move their cars, specifically telling the owner of the black SUV McBride was lying near to move the vehicle. Beeler also told people to stay back as he kept his gun pointed at McBride.
"Everybody in the store okay?" Beeler asked as sirens could be heard approaching. "Hey sir, go to the front of your car, okay? There's going to be a lot of cops here."
McBride continued lying on the ground and lifted his head up. After around three minutes from when McBride was shot, Beeler handcuffed him as other police officers arrived.
"He tried to stab that guy," Beeler said to other officers in the video.
An officer told Beeler he was going to get "crime scene stuff" while McBride was being searched. KPD said both knives were recovered from the gas station, and a still frame from the bodycam video showed they had been dropped near the SUV's tire.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting, and KPD said its Office of Professional Standards is also conducting an internal, administrative investigation to tell if Beeler followed KPD's procedures and policies. KPD said District Attorney General Charme Allen's office will make a determination on the shooting once the TBI finishes its investigation.
KPD said there was additional body camera video taken of officers providing medical assistance to McBride, but said that video was not included Wednesday and won't be released until after the TBI finishes its investigation and the DA makes a determination.
McBride was 41 years old and was declared dead after being taken to a hospital. His family said he had graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor of science in social work. His family also described him as a military veteran who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder since returning from overseas and said he turned to drug use to cope with his PTSD.