Sandy MaloneFlagstaff, AZ – Police have released bodycam video of a man armed with two knives charging a Flagstaff police officer outside a mental health facility on Sunday (video below).
Flagstaff Police Officer Tyler Romney and another officer were leaving an unrelated call at The Guidance Center located at 2187 N. Vickey Street when they were confronted by 47-year-old Russell Henry Harold, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.
The Feb. 3 bodycam video showed that Officer Romney was returning to his police vehicle when Harold suddenly appeared in front of the cruiser brandishing a knife in each hand.
Harold approached the officer with both knives raised in the air, as if he were going to attack, the video showed.
When Officer Romney, a three-and-a-half-year veteran of the Flagstaff Police Department, told Harold to drop his knives, the man lunged at the officer.
Officer Romney opened fire and struck Harold, according to KNXV.
Police redacted the part of the video where Harold was shot.
The officer’s commands to drop the knives cannot be heard in the bodycam video because the audio was on a standard 30-second delay.
Officers rendered life-saving first aid until medics arrived.
Harold, of Boise, Idaho, was transported to the Flagstaff Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the Arizona Daily Sun reported.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the incident with the Northern Arizona Shoot Team, according to a post on the Flagstaff PD’s official Facebook page.
Officer Romney has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, as is protocol for officer-involved shootings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
He will also face an internal investigation regarding his use-of-force in the incident.
“There is an internal affairs investigation currently being conducted by the Flagstaff Police Department Professional Standard’s Office,” Flagstaff Police Spokesman Charles Hernandez said.
Watch the armed man charge the officer in the video below: