Harrowing Police Body Cam Footage Shows Moments Before Deadly Encounter
— -- Video from an officer's body camera shows how a seemingly routine police interaction turned deadly.
Officer Tyler Stewart was killed after following up on a domestic violence report on Dec. 27, according to a statement from the Flagstaff Police Department in Arizona.
In footage from Stewart's body camera, the 24-year-old police officer has a calm conversation with the suspected gunman, identified as Robert Smith. The men talk for a few minutes before Stewart asks to pat down Smith's pockets.
Smith, 28, then pulls out a gun and starts to point at the officer, before the publicly available part of the video ends.
Stewart was shot multiple times and killed. Smith then killed himself, according to police.
Flagstaff Police Deputy Chief of Operations Walter Miller told ABC News that Stewart had been investigating the domestic assault call earlier in the day and even spoke to Smith on the phone before he arrived at Smith's house, which was not the location of the alleged domestic assault.
Miller noted that Stewart's father was a police officer with Flagstaff Department of Public Safety.
"We will certainly never forget Tyler’s service and his sacrifice that he made," said Miller. "We will carry forward in his honor."
Miller said officers have only had body cameras for the past few months and not all officers were outfitted with the devices. Stewart had been on the Flagstaff Police force for less than a year.
“This is an enormous tragedy for our department and the family of our office," Flagstaff Chief Kevin Treadway said in a statement on Facebook. "We are a very close knit organization, and know that all members of the Flagstaff Police Department are grieving at this time.”
The department has also set up a fund for the officer's family. More information on the fund can be found here.
“It is heartbreaking to lose one of our officers," Flagstaff Mayor Jerry Nabours said in the statement. "We collectively mourn for his family and the entire department."
