Decatur Police release body cam of an intense shootout that left 2 officers injured and suspect dead
By: 0:00 - Dash cam of Deputy Travis Wolfe
0:49 - Dash cam of Sgt. Timothy Wittmer
2:21 - Body cam of Sgt. Timothy Wittmer
3:15 - Slo-mo dash cam of Sgt. Timothy Wittmer
4:07 - Slo-mo body cam of Sgt. Timothy Wittmer
4:45 - Body cam of Officer Austin Bowman
5:54 - Slo-mo body cam of Officer Austin Bowman
6:26 - Dash cam of Bowman Ricker
7:58 - Body cam of Ryan Ricker
9:18 - Slo-mo dash cam of Bowman Ricker
-----
The Decatur Police Department released body cam and dash cam footage from an officer-involved shooting from October 12 that left two officers injured and a suspect dead.
Two officers were shot and a suspect was killed after a traffic stop turned violent.
A press conference was held Monday at 11 a.m. WAND News was there to bring you the latest information.
Multiple angles from several different body cams and patrol dash cams were released.
>>Decatur police officers wounded in shooting both released from hospital
The suspect was identified as Jamontey O. Neal, 32, of Decatur, who was pronounced dead at Decatur Memorial Hospital at 12:48 a.m. Wednesday.
Around 12:30 am, officers made a traffic stop in the 1300 block of E. Walnut Street. During the stop, shots were fired. DPD said an informant had told them he was in possession of a gun.
They said Neal had two guns in the car with him. One was underneath of him. Decatur police said that is the one he reached for before opening fire on the officers.
Police said the driver, Neal, was ordered to show his hands. The videos that were released showed the officers repeatedly ordered Neal to show his hands and place his hands on the steering wheel. They said Neal refused to comply, and one officer saw what was believed to be a handgun in the vehicle near Neal.
At this point, DPD said the officers tried to remove Neal from the vehicle.
That's when they said Neal produced a handgun and fired multiple rounds at the officers at close range. At this point, the officers returned fire, DPD said.
Neal then again fired at the officers, police said, at which time the officers again returned fire.
During the shootout, one Decatur Police Officer was hit multiple times and a second Decatur Police Officer was hit one time. Neal was struck multiple times.
Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel said, "Sergeant Wittmer was in the worst possible situation in this incident. He had been hit multiple times by gunfire. He went down to the ground. His vision was impaired. He had a malfunction of his weapon and he was completely exposed to the person who was trying to kill him."
Decatur Police said Neal's family were viewing the footage of the shooting with Illinois State Police and the Macon County State's Attorney.
"I've said this from the beginning, I want the public to see this... there is no hiding anything here. The videos speak for themselves," Chief Brandel said.