Video shows lead-up to fatal Durham officer-involved shooting; doesn't show if victim had gun

Around 1 a.m. on Feb. 12, 2017, Trooper Jerimy Mathis, a 20-year member of the State Highway Patrol, attempted to stop a 1996 Nissan sedan that was driving erratically on US-501 near Duke Street.4

Officials said the driver, 31-year-old Willard Eugene Scott, Jr. failed to stop when Mathis turned on sirens and blue lights.

After a brief pursuit, Scott exited his vehicle and began to run on foot. During the chase, Mathis fired his gun and struck Scott. Scott was transported to Duke Regional Hospital where he later died.

WRAL News spent months fighting in court for the release of the video before the petition was granted, making it public. The judge found a compelling public interest in ordering the release of the video and had imposed a deadline for it to be turned over to WRAL News by noon Thursday.

In the video, Mathis can be seen wearing plain clothes and sitting in the passenger’s seat while a trooper-in-training, Dedrick Anders, is behind the wheel of the patrol car.

“Put your siren on. Leave it on,” Mathis can be heard telling Anders.

The pair notice a car that appears to be weaving in its lane. With their lights and sirens on, video shows Scott refusing to stop.

“[He’s going] 84 miles per hour. He’s brake checking us,” Mathis says.

At one point, Scott opens his car door and about a 90 seconds into the chase, with the car still moving, he jumps out and takes off running, out of view of the camera.

“Get on him, get on him,” Mathis says as the troopers get out of the car.

One of the troopers can be heard telling Scott to put his hands up and get down on the ground. Second later, two gunshots can be heard.

“He’s got a gun, he’s got a gun. Get down on the ground,” one trooper says before the sound of gunfire. “Get on the ground. Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move.”

The autopsy also showed Scott had a blood-alcohol level of .10, which is just over the legal limit.

The Highway Patrol said Scott displayed a gun, but did not say if he pointed it at troopers.

The District Attorney has not yet announced any decision on whether Mathis will face charges. Prosecutors will likely closely analyze the video to determine whether or not a gun is visible.

Scott’s widow and her attorneys have also seen the dash cam video, but told WRAL News they wwere unavailable for an interview Thursday.