Video of shooting by police released

88-year-old Robert Coleman was former police employee

Robert Coleman, 88, was killed. He was a longtime former West Sac parking enforcement officer.

The West Sacramento Police Department released body camera footage Monday of a fatal shooting of a former department employee.

Robert Coleman, the 88-year-old victim of the shooting who is also Black, was a code and parking enforcement officer with West Sacramento for nearly a decade. He left the department in 2004, officials said in a Facebook post.

Coleman was shot by West Sacramento police officers after 3 a.m. in the 1800 block of West Capitol Avenue on Sept. 12 as they were investigating reports of an armed man in the area. An independent investigation from the Davis Police Department and the District Attorney is still underway.

The nearly 9-minute video released by authorities Monday, which features three different bodycam perspectives, shows the events leading up to and including the shooting.

In the first portion of the video “Officer #1” is shown walking toward Coleman and saying, “Hey, how’s it going, sir? Can I help you,” before dropping to the ground and yelling. He then draws his weapon and fires three times.

The officer then takes cover behind the patrol vehicle and yells, “Drop the gun, put the gun down,” just seconds before shooting several more times.

Another officer yells at Coleman to drop the gun and show his hands before reporting that Coleman is “still moving.” Twelve seconds later, more shots are fired. The video shows three officers firing on Coleman.

According to captions accompanying the video, four out of six officers fired their weapons.

One officer outside the frame can be heard saying, “He’s still got the gun, he’s manipulating it,” and another officer says, “He’s pulling the hammer on it.” The first officer is then shown reloading while the others continue to fire and demand for Coleman to drop his weapon.

An officer can eventually be heard saying that Coleman is no longer moving.

It is unclear from the video whether Coleman shot his gun or what kind of weapon he was holding. The end of the video shows a still photo of a weapon that police label a “revolver.”

Officers requested emergency medical personnel to the scene while they performed life-saving measures, police said in a previous Facebook post. Coleman was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after paramedics arrived. No officers or bystanders were reported injured.

The four officers involved in the shooting are authorized to return to duty, according to Interim Police Chief Rob Strange.

“These officers continue to cooperate with all investigative efforts and other work readiness processes, while they also engage with supportive resources to enable a healthy return to their work serving the residents of West Sacramento,” Strange said in a press release attached to the footage.

West Sacramento police said in a Facebook post last week that Coleman had been struggling with mental illness and “had expressed suicidal ideations.”

West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon said the independent investigation by Davis Police and the District Attorney is still underway and “typically concludes several months after an incident.”

Cabaldon added that there are also multiple internal reviews ongoing within the city’s executive office and the West Sacramento Police Department.

“After reviewing the footage, I felt even more deeply the profound tragedy of Mr. Coleman’s battle with mental illness, as well as the trauma endured both by his family and by police officers on the scene,” Cabaldon stated.

Black Lives Matter Sacramento planned a vigil in honor of Coleman on Sept. 16, but the event was canceled, according to the organization’s Instagram page.

“The family has decided they want to cancel the vigil and we honor that,” last week’s post states. “They believe that this was suicide and if the video comes out and says something different, action will be taken.”

“After reviewing the footage, I felt even more deeply the profound tragedy of Mr. Coleman’s battle with mental illness.” — West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon