Sandy MaloneDouglas County, CO – The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released bodycam and dashcam video of the deputy-involved shooting on Saturday of a man armed with an AK-47 who was firing shots at deputies (video below).
The incident occurred at about 6:15 p.m. on April 4 at the Interstate 25 interchange at Happy Canyon, the Denver Post reported.
A man called 911 and said he had put a man with an AK-47 out of his car because he was pointing it at him and making him nervous, according to the audio of the conversation with the dispatcher.
Dashcam video showed that when the first Douglas County sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene, 23-year-old Samuel Yeager was standing on the side of the road with his hand inside a soft case for a long gun.
The deputy got out of his vehicle and pointed his weapon in the direction of Yeager, the video showed.
“Set it down. Set it down,” he calmly ordered the suspect in the video.
The deputy yelled the suspect multiple time to put down the gun but Yeager ignored him, told him he had a right to have the gun, and walked away with his hand still inside the rifle case.
From the video footage included: the man, identified as Samuel Yeager, 23, is responding to officers shouts of "put it down" by shouting "I have the right to carry it in a case."
— Elliott Wenzler (@ElliottWenzler) April 6, 2021
“Then he laid down in the prone position, removed the rifle from the case, pointed the AK-47 at our deputy and started firing at our deputy,” Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said in the video briefing that included the videos.
“Deputies returned fire and, unfortunately, killed the suspect at the scene,” Sheriff Spurlock said.
Samuel Yeager Biography Samuel Yeager Wiki
Man killed in the shooting
A Samuel Yeager was shot and killed in a clash with sheriff's deputies near Interstate 25 south of Denver, authorities said.Police: pic.twitter.com/QKWJ3wbxa1
— wiki fox news (@fox_wiki) April 4, 2021
The sheriff said he had only released the portion of the video that led up to the shooting out of respect for the gunman’s family.
He said the rest of the video would be released after the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office had completed its investigation of the deputy-involved shooting, the Denver Post reported.
No deputies were injured during the incident.
The deputies who fired their weapons were placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is conducted as is protocol for all deputy-involved shootings, the KCNC reported.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. WARNING – Graphic Content:
Holly Matkin
