VANCOUVER, Wash. — A home security camera captured the moment Vancouver police officers shot and killed an armed man early Sunday morning. In the video you can hear officers ordering someone to put down weapons, then gunfire.
None of the four officers involved were outfitted with cameras, nor were their vehicles. In early December 2021, Vancouver Police launched a body camera pilot program outfitting 10 officers and six vehicles with cameras, which was supposed to last 60 days. VPD said Friday it had ended the program early on Dec. 29, 2021, after the testing committee determined it already had enough data. The equipment was disconnected to return to the vendor, VPD said, and none of the officers involved in the shooting had been participating in the pilot program.
Authorities said around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, somebody called 911 to report a man inside their home was armed with knives and had possibly started a fire.
WATCH: Home security camera captures Vancouver police shooting. Warning: content is graphic.
The caller and several others, including two children, were locked in a bedroom and eventually escaped through a window.
The suspect came outside and confronted officers with a knife, VPD said.
"It's shocking," said neighbor Barbara Decknadel. "It's very shocking."
Decknadel managed to sleep through the overnight shooting in the Sky Ridge Estates.
"The neighborhood is really safe," she said. "We haven't had any issues or any problems."
Officers confronted the suspect outside the home and used less-lethal weapons in hopes of de-escalating the situation, police said. Officers ultimately shot and killed the man.
According to Decknadel, the corner of the mobile home park where the shooting happened was blocked off with crime tape most of Sunday morning as detectives collected evidence and interviewed witnesses to the deadly encounter.
"Sad," Decknadel said. "Very sad. Especially in our neighborhood here. It's real quiet."
The officers involved in the shooting are on leave, which is standard. The Southwest Washington Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating.