FALL RIVER, Mass. — Newly released body camera video captures a fatal shooting in which police say a suspect opened fire on responding officers, wounding two before officers returned fire.
The department released the video Nov. 5 from the Feb. 8 shooting on Linden Street.
| WEBINAR: Rethinking public order policing: Crowd science, dialogue policing and the law
Police said officers responded to two calls involving the suspect, identified as Nigel Vaughn, within about an hour. The first, late on Feb. 7, reported that Vaughn was driving erratically and had been involved in an altercation near Knight’s Gas Station/Towing on Linden Street.
Early on Feb. 8, a second 911 call reported a man with a firearm in the same area. Officers responding to that call found Vaughn in an SUV. The weapons check and shooting followed during that response.
“I got a call saying somebody in a black SUV, with handguns involved, okay?” an officer says in the video.
An officer asks Vaughn to step out of the vehicle so he could check for weapons. According to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Vaughn resisted during a pat frisk, leading to a physical struggle, WHDH reported.
While on the ground, body camera video shows the suspect firing at officers.
“Shots fired! Shots fired!” an officer shouts in the recording.
Officers can then be heard reporting that an officer has been hit and requesting a medic.
Officers returned fire, striking Vaughn, who died from his injuries.
In the moments after the shooting, an officer asks, “You good?”
“My arm,” the officer responds.
Another voice later says, “I’m hit. I’m hit.”
One officer was struck in the elbow, and the other was struck in the abdomen, WHDH reported.
It was determined Vaughn’s firearm had an aftermarket machine-gun conversion device, commonly called a “switch,” that enabled it to fire multiple rounds with a single function of the trigger, according to the department. Police said Vaughn was a convicted felon and legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Police said the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office determined the officers’ use of deadly force was justified following an investigation by Massachusetts State Police detectives.
A separate administrative investigation by the department’s Shooting Investigation Team found the officers’ actions complied with department policy and Massachusetts use-of-force regulations, police said. The department’s Shooting Review Board unanimously found the officers’ actions complied with department policies and procedures.
The department extended condolences to Vaughn’s family and said it released the footage to help the public understand the shooting and the investigative findings.
“We believe transparency is essential to public trust,” the department said.
