By Police1 Staff
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Harrisburg police released footage Wednesday of a fatal September 2015 shooting after repeated requests from the suspect’s family.
According to WHSV, police released all media that documented the incident, including 911 calls, videos from six different body cameras, and radio traffic.
The Sept. 20 shooting occurred when police received a call that a man, Michael Pierce, Jr., was holding a gun to another person’s head in an apartment. Police discovered Pierce had been partying when a dispute broke out. He left the apartment and returned with a firearm.
Twelve officers responded to the call and commanded Pierce drop the gun. He fired the first round at officers, according to a police report obtained by WHSV.
Three officers fired a total of five rounds. Pierce died from a single gunshot wound.
A toxicology report later showed the suspect’s BAC was three times the legal limit.
The suspect’s father, Michael Pierce, Senior, told the news site he had tried to obtain the footage for months after police only allowed him to see one video. After he watched all six, he was convinced police were justified in their actions and his family received closure.
“I really believe that no one wants to take someone else’s life and I think Michael made some really bad choices that night, he really made a lot of bad choices that night,” he told the news site. “He paid for it with his life.”
His hope is this can be taken as a teachable moment for the department, in that the agency will release all body camera video, officers’ names, and conduct third-party investigations after future use of force incidents.