Walnut Creek PD releases body cam video, 911 audio in fatal shooting

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KTVU) - New body camera video, released to the public on Tuesday, shows the deadly encounter between a young man and Walnut Creek police. 

Miles Hall was shot and killed by officers on June 2. 

KTVU made the request for public release of the body camera videos and information associated with the officer involved shooting. Walnut Creek police fulfilled part of that request with the release of four body camera videos, pictures and audio from the 911 calls.

Hall's mother told KTVU off camera that her 23-year-old son was a good kid who didn't deserve to die like that. She also said they called police for help because officers knew his mental health history. 
The family says they never thought their calls to police would end this way.

 Hall’s grandmother called 911 to get her grandson help. On the call, Hall can be heard yelling in the background.  

“Miles, my grandson is having a mental health breakdown and he just came into my room and told me I have to put on a red shirt which I did,” Hall’s grandmother told dispatch.

A neighbor called next. 

“A lot of screaming and yellow over there and what sounded like what could have been a gunshot but I’m not sure,” said a neighbor. 
 
Walnut Creek police also released photos of a sliding glass door that Hall broke during the dispute with his family and was carrying a nearly five foot long metal pole.
 
“He has like this long pipe, metal pole and he was threatening us with it,” said Hall’s mother to the dispatcher. “I’m telling you now he is going to be aggressive too police. He needs to be apprehended. 

The dispatcher had been relaying information to officers, telling them Hall had a mental breakdown. However, the dispatcher also added a detail about a sharp edged pole that was never mentioned in the calls from family or neighbors.
 
“He has a long pole with a sharp edge on it and he’s being violent,” said the dispatcher to police.

Moments later officers make contact with Hall and released four body camera videos to show what happened.
 
The first few shots are from a less lethal bean bag gun, but almost simultaneously, a series of five bullets fired. Hall was handcuffed on the ground and still alive, as officers tended to his wounds. He died at the hospital.

The family's attorney questioned why Hall needed to be shot at all.

“At the time he was shot and killed, he was moving away from them off to the side and I don't see the justification of the shooting,” said civil rights attorney John Burris. “He clearly was evading police officers. He wasn't running at the police when they shot him. That's the most critical fact." 
 
Burris also takes issue with the response from officers, knowing Hall’s mental state.

“You can't expect a person who is unreasonable and mentally impaired to act in a reasonable away,” he said.

Since 2015, Walnut creek police say they have responded to eight calls involving Hall. And police cite his history, which they described as violent.

“In one case, Hall was reported to be armed with a knife and in another incident he entered a neighbor’s backyard with a knife,” said Walnut Creek Police Lt. Tracie Reese. 
 
Police say all previous calls were handled as mental health issues and four of the five responding officers completed crisis negotiating training. 
  
Burris says they are proceeding with a federal civil rights case claiming officers used excessive and unreasonable force.

The videos are graphic in nature so viewer discretion is advised. 

Walnut Creek police said the newly released audio and video does not mean the investigation into the shooting is over. 

"This Informational Briefing Video is designed to share information with the public but does not represent a conclusion to this investigation or a final report evaluating officers' actions," the department said in a press release.