Police in Arizona initially said Dean Lawrence Knudsen approached them with a gun while making threats making them fear for their lives which is why they had to shoot and kill him.
But body camera footage released this week shows the 56-year-old man was holding a vape pen in one hand and a cell phone in the other hand with both hands over his head.
The incident took place on March 27 after Knudsen called 911 threatening suicide which led to three Maricopa police officers responding to his address.
“Nobody is listening to me,” he told the dispatcher. “I’m about to put a bullet in my head.”
Knudsen then hung up and the dispatcher called him back.
“I’m not looking to hurt any cops, ok,” he says to the dispatcher.
But he was hoping they would take his life, judging by his actions and conversation with the dispatcher.
Maricopa police officer Carmen Nylander fired the shots that killed him while another officer, Timothy Nye, fired his taser.
Nye, in fact, went from holding his service gun upon arriving on the scene to holding a taser after seeing Knudsen’s hands in the air.
But Nylander who was closer believed him to be wielding a gun.
The Maricopa Police Department went along with the lie and told local media that Knudsen was killed as he approached them with a gun making threats.
They went along with the lie for a month until releasing portions from the body camera footage on Tuesday along with audio from the 911 call.
But missing is the footage from Nylander’s camera which police say was not activated at the time.
Watch the video below.
missing video. how covenant. blue lies mafia criminals doing what they do best! lie, lie and lie some more!
nevermind it was daytime. nevermind that the blue lies mafia criminal that MURDERED the victim needs to get his eyes checked, because his tunnel vision took over and anything and everything in the victims hand(s) is a GUN! nevermind that he couldn’t determine the difference between a taser pop and gunshot! nevermind that that pig farm has a bad habit of letting “killology” training kick in when de-escalation is needed!