Bodycam shows moments before Stanislaus deputies shot man who fired gun inside Waterford home
By: The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office on Thursday revealed parts of their body-worn camera footage showing the moments leading up to when they shot and killed a 27-year-old man in the city of Waterford.
A 911 caller had said their roommate, Bradly Locklin, had fired a gun inside the house at 3:23 a.m. for an unknown reason, the sheriff's office said. The home was in the 13000 block of Bentley Street. The deputy, later identified as Zazueta, fired his gun 53 minutes later.
What the sheriff's office initially released was details about the other people in the home, hiding and fearing for their safety before the shooting. The bodycam footage release shows more of the interaction between deputies and the caller, as well as Zazueta's bodycam before, during and after the shooting.
Here's what body-worn camera footage shows
Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse narrates much of the video, describing how deputies surrounded the home and spoke with a person in the home around 3:56 a.m. who did not feel like it was safe to get out of the house. The caller told the sheriff there were six people total in the house.
The video then goes to Zazueta's bodycam, which starts at 4:15 a.m. Deputies talk about seeing a vehicle drive past them and pull up in front of the home. They suspected it might have been an Uber or a Lyft.
While this is happening, they saw a man exit the front door of the home under the porch. At this time, they did not know if it was Locklin or one of the trapped people. Deputies said they saw the man holding something and later determined it was a gun. A gunshot could be heard around six minutes into the video, and deputies can be heard saying they were unsure who the man was shooting at. They later determined he fired a gunshot into the air.
Deputies saw the man trying to walk back inside the house, waving a gun. That is when a sergeant said, "Do it," and a deputy can be heard firing their gun. After they confirmed he was down, they said the man still had a gun in his hand.
The deputies gave the man a command to put his hands up. After that, they closed in and pinned the man down with the shield. Much of the video from here cannot be seen well, as much of it is intentionally blurred by the sheriff's office.
Here's what else happened during the shooting
While Locklin was on the porch, the video states that three of the six people inside the home were able to get out. None of the six was injured, and neither was the driver of the vehicle that pulled up.
In a Thursday email to KCRA 3, the sheriff's office said the firearm Locklin had was recovered from underneath his body after he was shot. It could not be confirmed if the gun was inside his waistband.
Because the bodycam footage released Thursday did not actually show the shooting, KCRA 3 asked if there was more footage available. The sheriff's office replied, saying there are hours worth more of video available, but it is not being released at this time.
The video also clarified that public address system announcements were never made toward Locklin, despite the sheriff's office's original release saying deputies did so.
Both the sheriff's office and the Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office are investigating.