Body Camera Captures St. Louis Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Man Who Charged Officers
— -- A suburban St. Louis man was killed after he charged at police officers while wielding a knife, and the shooting was captured on an officer's body camera.
A woman called police late Friday and said her son, Thaddeus McCarroll, was armed with a knife and had locked her out of her house in Jennings, Missouri, the St. Louis County Police Department said today.
Police said they could see McCarroll, 23, through the window, armed with a Samurai sword and several knives.
The woman told police her son "was talking about going on a 'journey' and a 'mission' and mentioned a "black revolution,'" according to police.
About an hour after officers arrived, McCarroll walked out of the house with a knife in one hand and a bible in the other, police said.
The ensuing encounter was captured on an officer's body camera as police continuously asked McCarroll to drop the knife.
"Why are you carrying a knife?" an officer asked McCarroll. "Your mom is worried about you."
An officer then told McCarroll they were "not here to harm you" after McCarroll replied.
"We need to know that you're going to be okay, starting right now," an officer said.
When McCarroll - with the knife still in his hand - walked toward the officers, one fired a "less lethal round" in an attempt to disarm him, police said. The round hit McCarroll, who then "immediately charged the officers at a full run with the knife still in hand," police said.
Two officers shot McCarroll several times, police said. The sound of the gunshots was captured by the body camera, along with an officer calling for CPR and a medic.
McCarroll died outside the home.
"A family lost a loved one tonight and that is tragic," St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said during a news conference Saturday.
"My officers took every precaution to safely resolve this situation, starting with over an hour long attempt at negotiations with the subject," Belmar continued. "The officers resorted to less lethal force to try and bring the incident to a safe conclusion with no loss of life, but this individual made the decision to refuse these attempts, and charge at officers with a deadly weapon."
An internal department is investigating the shooting. St. Louis County police said the officers involved were placed on administrative leave.
Attempts to reach the family of McCarroll have been unsuccessful.
