'I Got Him:' Body Cam Video Shows Officer's Justified Lethal Force
PARKER, Colo. (CBS4) - Video recorded by the body camera of an officer who fatally shot a suspect wanted for shooting a deputy has been released by authorities in Douglas County.
Parker police and Douglas County Sheriff's officers were answering a call about a suicidal man on Sept. 2. That man, Randy Rodick, opened fire and critically injured a deputy.
District Attorney George Brauchler has cleared Parker Police Officer Ronnie Dorrell, who fired a single, fatal shot that struck Rodick in the head and killed him. The decision was that lethal force was justified.
The video captured by Dorrell's cam reveals how chaotic the situation was.
Investigators say Rodick was using a fully automatic AK-47, firing shots at officers and innocent bystanders from his RV. The violence took place just north of Sierra Middle School, and some shots struck a nearby hospital and narrowly missed staff.
The body cam shows Dorrell arriving on the scene in his police cruiser and quickly jumping out of his car with his gun. He hustles as close as is safe to Rodick, next to another vehicle with its door is open. He asks a nearby person "Where is he?" and takes shelter behind the car door.
Split seconds later, Dorrell raises his gun and fires the shot. He then cries out "I got him! He's down, he's down!"
"To know that there was an officer down, to know that there are people being shot at, to know that this guy is armed to the hilt and to be able to stop yourself, take in that psych picture, slow your breathing and pull that trigger one time and end this thing, that is an amazing shot," Brauchler said in a news conference on Thursday morning.
Douglas County Sheriff's Detective Dan Brite was the only one who was injured by gunfire in the incident. He is currently undergoing extensive rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood.
Parker Police Chief David King says he's proud of how his officers conducted themselves on that day, "This guy (suspect) continued to fire so at that point in time we have to stop that threat immediately and that's what we did."
Rodick had an arsenal with him that included a shotgun, a handgun and thousands of rounds of ammo. Back at his house, a secret bookshelf was discovered that opened to a gun and ammo room.
Brauchler said for him, it's the "What if" questions that stood out the most when he was reviewing the case.
"What if this guy's wife hadn't alerted law enforcement to his behavior? What if law enforcement hadn't been able to keep him in this very small area as he loaded his RV with all of these implements of death?" Brauchler said.