Law enforcement officers carry an injured victim of the assassination attempt on Trump during a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Butler Township Police Department
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Butler Township Police Department
Newly released body camera footage sheds light on law enforcement’s chaotic response to last month’s assassination of former President Trump.
Footage obtained by NPR shows what local police officers who encountered the gunman before he opened fire at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, saw.
The video shows the officer’s perspective as he runs towards the building where the gunman took up position on the roof. A fellow police officer helped him up, and the officer looked down from the roof.
The encounter lasted only a moment before the officer immediately collapsed, hit the ground and ran to the other side of the building.
One officer motioned to his colleagues to help him up so he could reach the roof. There, he met the gunman.
Butler Township Police Department
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Butler Township Police Department
There is no audio in the video because the officer has not yet activated his The Butler Township Police Department said the body-worn camera was recovered after the incident.
A law enforcement timeline shows the gunman began shooting immediately after the encounter.
About a minute passed before the officer ran to the side of the building after encountering the gunman, then returned to his car and loaded a long gun in the back seat. At this point, the officer pressed the record button on his body camera and the audio began. The unnamed officer then directed other officers who arrived at the scene.
The officer who encountered the gunman recounted to arriving law enforcement: “It was close. Man, man, he turned to me.
Another officer asked where the shooter was. The officer who saw him said, “He’s straight! Right where you picked me up, brother? He’s on the left.
He described the shooter as “wearing glasses, long hair. He had a book bag and he was crazy.
As he did so, his body camera captured some law enforcement officers trying to reach the roof. Shouts for ladders can be heard as other officers try to lift each other to the roof.
The officers continued shouting at each other for several minutes, with some climbing onto the roof.
Some law enforcement officers gathered in front of the building where the gunman opened fire from the rooftop.
Butler Township Police Department
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Butler Township Police Department
A 50-year-old former fire captain, Corey Comperatore, was killed in the attack and two other rally attendees were seriously injured. Trump was hit in the ear.
The gunman was killed by the Secret Service.
Afterwards, a video captured another local police officer loudly asking why no law enforcement officers were stationed on the roof.
That question remains unanswered as law enforcement, including the Secret Service, cited an ongoing investigation. In late July, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned amid criticism from members of Congress over the agency’s handling of the incident.
Video shows immediate aftermath after gunman was killed
Law enforcement officers tried to reach the roof where the gunman fired.
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Video shows the first officer who encountered the gunman on the roof was voluntarily carried back there by other officers struggling to get to their feet.
On the roof, he joined three police officers – at least two of them heavily armed with camouflage uniforms, vests, boots and long guns – surrounding the gunman’s body. An officer pointed his gun at the body.
A long trail could be seen, which appeared to be blood.
An officer handcuffed the shooter and turned him over while waiting for more officers to arrive.
A backpack can be seen near the body.
“That’s it for taking pictures with Trump,” a police officer in camouflage says near the end of the 26-minute video.
Other videos capture the chaos at various points
Additional footage released by Butler Township police captures officers at various locations at the market and after the shooting.
The nearly 22-minute-long video shows a vantage point behind the rally bleachers, just behind where Trump was speaking. The video has no audio, but the footage shows, in haunting silence, the chaos that ensued after the shooting began.
The officer took cover and did not run to respond to the shooting. It’s unclear what his orders were or what he said to other officers who were also walking around with their guns drawn.
About six and a half minutes into the video, a group of police officers grab an injured man’s limbs and disappear into a white tent behind the stands.
Another video taken by an officer outside the building where the gunman opened fire highlighted the early chaos for law enforcement.
One police officer said, “I thought it was you! I thought you were on the roof!
He later lamented: “Whenever they see him… they should have called us sooner.”
