Video of a deadly Rochester police shooting shows 38-year-old Akintunde Campbell remove a handgun from his sweatshirt pocket and hold it, pointed downward, as officers shout for him to “put it down now.”
The two responding officers’ repeated commands come in rapid succession. Campbell doesn’t move, seen in the officer-worn body camera footage of the July 31 shooting released Monday.
Less than five seconds elapse between him displaying the gun, and the officers firing the first of a least a dozen shots, the video shows — striking Campbell in the chest, killing him.
Campbell did not appear to raise the weapon, and did not fire a shot.
“My main concern is how quick it happened,” said Rochester City Council President Miguel Meléndez, who called for the immediate release of the footage last week and was left with more questions after seeing it. “I’m not a trained officer. I’m not going to pretend that I am. But I feel this was fast. This really was split-second decisions.”
The New York state Attorney General’s Office is investigating , which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings. The two officers, who have not been identified, are on paid administrative leave.
(The edited body-worn camera video police released from Thursday's fatal officer-involved shooting can be seen here. Warning: The video is graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.)
In the video, Campbell can be seen just after 7:30 p.m., last Thursday, walking on Ernestine Street as the two officers approach. Police have said they received three 911 calls of a man acting suspiciously in the area, including standing on a neighbor’s porch and attempting to enter an occupied vehicle.
It was not immediately clear if there were multiple callers or a single caller. Police did not have those details Monday. According to public records, Campbell’s known address was on Ernestine Street, a single-block strip between Thurston Road and Genesee Park Boulevard.
The beginning of the video lacks audio due to what the department explained as a feature of its body-worn camera system that records 30 seconds of soundless footage before activation. About 20 seconds into the video, an officer attempts to grab Campbell. He pulls himself away and continues walking.
It is unclear what precipitated the officer physically engaging Campbell. A statement from the department said it was an attempt to “stop him from walking away.” A department spokesperson declined to elaborate and deferred to the Attorney General’s Office.
After the tussle with the officer, the video shows Campbell continue walking. Both officers have their guns drawn and pointed at Campbell’s back at this point. The audio begins with both officers yelling at Campbell “what do you have in your hand.”
“What you mean, what’s in my hand?” he can be heard asking, shortly before removing the handgun.
Campbell was pronounced dead at the scene. The object in his hand was identified by the department as a Palmetto State Armory 9-millimeter pistol, loaded with 13 rounds, which is illegal in New York state. The maximum allowed is 10 rounds.
Chief David Smith has said he thinks the officers acted professionally during the incident.
“Based on everything I saw last night, everyone involved in this responded exactly the way they were trained in a highly professional manner,” Smith said. “Medical aid was rendered immediately. The officers were calm and cool on the radio. Officers responded from around the city to help manage the scene, as they often do.”
Last week, the progressive caucus of the Rochester City Council, made up of Councilmembers Stanley Martin, Kim Smith, and Mary Lupien, issued a statement after seeing the footage. The trio said the video emphasized the need for better mental health and crisis services in the city.
It is unclear whether Campbell was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the shooting.
“Preserving the lives of our neighbors is paramount and every avenue must be explored to ensure that our residents can live to see another day following an encounter with the police,” the statement reads.
The Rochester Police Locust Club, the union representing sworn officers of the department, responded in a statement Monday, writing that the Council members “have failed in their roles as elected officials” and that their statement demonstrates a “troubling bias.”
The statement by Martin, Smith and Lupien referred to “how quickly the encounter escalated,” which the union argued “disregards the real dangers officers face daily (and) insults the men and women who responded professionally and courageously to a volatile and dangerous situation. The officers did not escalate the encounter; they responded to a call for help in a neighborhood there are sworn to protect. The individual involved dictated the outcome through his actions.”
