Video has surfaced of an encounter between Wilmington, Delaware police and an armed man in a wheelchair who was reportedly suicidal. The video ends with the man being shot to death in a barrage of bullets
The 1-minute-and-19-second-long video, recorded by a witness on a smartphone and posted to YouTube, shows a man being shot Wednesday afternoon along the 1800 block of Tulip Street.
Multiple gunshots can be heard in the clip.
Police said they responded to a 911 call at 3:07 p.m. of a man suffering from a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound. When police arrived, officials said officers found the victim — who was paralyzed from the waist down — was armed with a handgun and that a shooting ensued.
"He pulled out his gun. He was trying to shoot himself up there," witness Sean Owens said Thursday. "I think he may have shot himself once or twice, but he shot the other shots in the air."
The man, identified by family members as 28-year-old Jeremy McDowell, died at the scene, police said.
The video begins with an officer, armed with a shotgun, shouting for McDowell, who was sitting in his the wheelchair behind a silver Mercedes, to show his hands.
A single gunshot can then be heard. The video does not show who fired the shot as the camera dropped toward the ground.
"Show me your hands! Drop the gun! Drop the gun!" officers continue to shout as McDowell moves in the wheelchair. Additional police can be heard, but are blocked from view by a wall. It's not possible to see in the video the handgun witnesses and police said McDowell was holding.
McDowell appeared to be bleeding profusely as he adjusted himself in the wheelchair. It's not clear if he was hit by the first gunshot heard on the video or had been previously injured.
After 57-seconds, the man could be seen putting his hand into his pocket and then a flurry of gunfire ensues. At least 10 gunshots can be heard. The shooters are blocked from view by the wall.
Then McDowell rolls to his left and falls onto the ground.
Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings said he's watched the video and believes the officers acted professionally. A .38-caliber handgun was recovered, he said.
"The officers perceived what was a threat and they responded and they engaged," Cummings said. Four officers were involved in the shooting, officials said. They have all been placed on leave.
McDowell's family questioned the use of deadly force.
"Why couldn't you tase this man out of his wheelchair," asked his sister, Letesha Green. "Why couldn't you use rubber bullets to get him out of the wheelchair?"
Bishop Anthony Slaughter, who lives in the Wilmington neighborhood where the shooting happened, said he counseled McDowell and disputed the man was suicidal.
"He didn't show any signs of being depressed or anything of that nature," he said.
Cummings, the police chief, said authorities do not believe any other video exists of the incident. NBC10 asked retired ATF agent Matt Horace to review the video. He said police gave McDowell just warning.
"The subject in the video had clearly been identified as armed and he was given lawful instruction on more than one occasion to drop the gun," he said.
The Delaware Department of Justice is handling the investigation as is required by state law. In a statement, officials said they will work quickly to provide an account of the incident to the public. They will determine whether charges should be filed.
Photo Credit: Mike Wilson
