Body camera shows man killed by Raleigh police swinging knife at officers after being shocked by Taser
The Raleigh Police Department on Friday released footage from body cameras of five officers who were present when Daniel Turcios was shot alongside Interstate 440 in Raleigh after a crash last month.
The nearly three hours of video, which the police department asked to be made public, shows Turcios refusing to drop his knife and then attempting to stab officers after being shocked by a Taser.
Within minutes of officers' arrival, the body camera footage shows that they had shocked Turcios and fired the shots that would kill him.
RPD posted the video clips on YouTube with a warning.
EDITOR'S NOTE/CONTENT WARNING: Video provided by Raleigh Police Department of the shooting of Daniel Turcios is graphic and includes Taser and gun fire. It shows Turcios being shot.
Raleigh police body camera video shows chaotic crash scene before police fired shots
A compilation video from multiple Raleigh police officers' body camera footage recorded after a crash along Interstate 440 last month shows police trying to help a boy and man who were injured.
The video shows Daniel Turcios, driver of a vehicle that overturned in the crash, visibly upset and shouting in Spanish at his family members, shouting at them to calm down.
Others at the scene of the crash tried to calm Turcios down, the video shows.
Officers spoke to Turcios in Spanish and asked him to please sit down. The responding officers said in their radio that Turcios was slightly intoxicated and they asked for backup.
Witnesses to the crash told officers that Turcios was driving well over the speed limit — around 90 to 100 mph —weaving in and out of traffic.
The video shows that one witness said that he flipped off Turcios after Turcios cut him off. The witness told police that Turcios "slammed" his car into the metal guard rail.
"I was driving calmly, he stuck his finger out," Turcios told officers about the road rage incident, according to the body camera footage.
On the video, Turcios' wife is heard shouting at him, "This is what you did! You'll die! You're crazy!" in Spanish.
Turcios refuses officers' commands to drop his knife
Around five minutes into the video, Turcios is seen holding a small knife a couple inches away from a firefighter. The officer asks Turcios to put his knife down, and he shakes his head no. His gesture is visible on the body camera video.
Turcios' wife then asks him to put the knife down, and says in Spanish, "Do it for the kids."
Turcios, still holding the knife, then walks away from officers with one of his children. The compilation body camera footage shows that Sergeant W.B. Tapscott was pointing his Taser at Turcios and a crowd of witnesses. Tapscott continued to point the Taser Turcios' back while he was holding his child's hand.
Raleigh police officer shocks Turcios with a Taser
The cameras show Turcios walked away from his child and wife, ignoring the Tapscott's commands to "drop it." As he walked away, the video shows Tapscott shocked him with a Taser.
Tapscott, who is wearing body camera three, was at the scene for around three minutes before shocking Turcios, the body camera video shows.
Turcios is seen lying on the ground in pain, still holding the knife. Turcios then gets back up, and swings the knife at officer Begin. The video shows that Turcios' knife does not come into contact with the officer and instead both men fall to the ground.
Officers shoot Turcios five times
In body camera video three, Tapscott shocks Turcios again with his Taser. The video shows that while being shocked by the Taser, Turcios was also shot twice by a gun fired by Officer A.A. Smith.
Even after being shocked and shot at, Turcios jumped up from the ground quickly, still holding his small knife. All but Smith darted away from him as he jumped up. Smith then fired three more times from a couple feet away.
After that officer shot him, another officer yelled for Turcios to "get on the ground" and "put the knife down." Turcios' legs twitch as he lies on the ground, and officers continue to point their guns at him.
About nine minutes in to the compilation video, Turcios is on the ground, crying out in pain, while his wife is heard wailing in the background.
Officers kicked the knife away from Turcios while he lies on the ground. They then searched Turcios for weapons as he lay bleeding on the ground and then handcuffed him, the video shows.
According to the body camera video, officers said that they believed Turcios was dead. Turcios was officially declared dead at the hospital days later.
One body camera video, two very different perspectives
Activists and the family of Turcios said that his death was entirely preventable.
"My family is destroyed, they destroyed my family," said Rosa Jerez, Turcios' wife. "It's not fair to see my children suffering, it's not fair for me to suffer everyday. And suffer for what? For something that should not have happened."
Kerwin Pittman, a social justice activist with Emancipate NC, said that police escalated the situation by shooting Turcios with a Taser while he had his back turned toward officers.
"You see he spoke Spanish the whole time, he did not speak English the whole time," Pittman said, arguing that Turcios didn't understand the officer's commands.
After Turcios was shot twice by Smith and shocked with a Taser a second time, he fell to the ground. Pittman disputed how the city's five day report characterizes his actions after falling to the ground.
Pittman said that the video does not show Turcios "lunging" at officers after he was shot, but instead, shows that he was just trying to stand up. The city's five-day report says that Turcios lunged at officers a second time, but Smith was a couple feet away from Turcios when he shot him again, Pittman highlighted.
While Pittman recognized Turcios was armed, he said "the preservation of life should always be held to a higher standard, regardless."
Lee Turner, an attorney representing some of the officers involved in the incident, said that the officers acted as they were trained to do.
"These officers used the appropriate amount of force and it was used at the correct time," Turner said. "Each time shots were fired, he had a knife in his hand and he was in an offensive posture toward the officers."
Body camera video consistent with city of Raleigh's five-day report
Video released by the department on Friday is consistent with the city's five day report, released on Jan. 19.Raleigh police release report on deadly I-440 shooting
Smith and Tapscott were placed on administrative duty while the shooting is being investigated, standard procedure after an officer fires a weapon. Tapscott has faced public scrutiny in the past after shooting and killing a man brandished a BB gun in 2020.
The next step is for the State Bureau of Investigations to complete its report and give it to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
The Raleigh Police Department will also conduct its own investigation into what happened to determine if any policies have been broken.
Parts of the footage were redacted to protect the privacy of witnesses and due to its graphic nature, according to Judge Bryan Collins. The video was particularly graphic when showing the face of Turcios, he said.
“I find that the release of these videos is necessary to the advance of compelling public interest,” Collins said.
