Body camera video footage released Wednesday by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office shows approximately two minutes of the incident that killed a man in an officer-involved shooting in Poulsbo on May 7.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office released some footage from Poulsbo police officers who were involved in the attempted arrest of Justin L. Moegling, a 41-year-old Bremerton man who was shot and killed by police in the area of Nordic Cove Lane and Viking Way a week ago. The video was published to the sheriff’s office’s Facebook and YouTube pages, and about two and a half minutes of video was released to the media as well. The segment of video does not appear to be edited, but does not include scenes of how the incident began or the moments when Moegling was fatally shot.
Timestamped at 8:55 p.m., the video clip begins with an officer announcing he is with the Poulsbo Police Department, who then demands Moegling exit his car, which is parked with the car’s front end pointed off Viking Way. Other law enforcement vehicles can be seen behind the car. An officer then smashes Moegling’s car window to create an opening, which is visible in the video. After that officer and another officer repeat that Moegling should exit the car, another officer issues a warning and then starts shooting loads from a “pepperball gun” into the car.
More: Bremerton man identified as driver shot in traffic stop on Viking Way
A moment later Moegling gets out of his car and an officer loudly announces that Moegling is armed with a knife. Officers instruct him to drop his weapon, and more rounds from the pepperball gun are fired at him when Moegling continues holding the knife as he moves around. An officer says “we need you to drop the knife now,” asks Moegling his name at one point, and tells him they want to avoid further escalation. As officers are seen moving closer to Moegling, who then begins to move toward officers with the knife. Moegling is repeatedly tasered, at one point knocked to the ground, after which he stands again and appears to advanced toward police.
The video ends at this point and does not show when Moegling was shot.
This incident is currently being investigated by the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations. Other than an initial statement from the sheriff’s office and Poulsbo Police Department the day after the shooting, and the release of the video Wednesday, the agencies have referred all further questions to the state.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Law enforcement releases video from officer-involved shooting on May 7
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