Columbus police release body camera footage, 911 calls in SWAT raid that left suspect dead
Columbus police released 911 calls, body camera footage, and new details Wednesday about a shooting Sunday that left a suspect dead near the Ohio State University campus.
Asante Taaj Omar Miller, 21, whom police say lived on the streets of Columbus, was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m. Sunday after an hourslong standoff with police.
The incident began with a report of a burglary in progress at about 8 a.m. Sunday on the 1500 block of Worthington Street, according to a news release that accompanied the document release. Police said they were told the suspect was inside the residence.
Police body camera footage appears to show Miller leaving that residence and fleeing police, ignoring repeated instructions to "drop the gun." As he walked away from police with a hand in his hooded sweatshirt pocket, several officers opened fire, but he escaped, the footage shows.
A 911 caller had told police Miller was a former resident at the home on Worthington Street, and said he was armed, according to a copy of the recording reviewed by The Dispatch.
"He used to live with us, he's a dangerous guy," the caller said.
The caller said the people living in the home had an altercation with him in the past.
Another caller told dispatchers after that initial shooting that she had seen Miller flee the scene past her apartment carrying a gun.
Police received multiple frightened calls from residents on the block, including one from a woman who said she was hiding in her car and did not know whether it was safe to leave her hiding spot and enter the apartment.
Police located Miller at a second residence on the 100 block of West Avenue. Body camera footage shows officers observed signs of forced entry there and formed a plan to search the rooms before entering. They called on Miller to "sound off" and come out with his hands up.
When a female officer opened the door to one of the rooms, she was immediately met with gunfire, the footage shows. She and other officers returned fire.
After the other officers confirmed that she had not been struck, they reloaded, preparing to reenter the room Miller was "hunkered down" in. They ordered Miller again to "sound off" and show his hands, at which point a single gunshot can be heard coming from the room.
The officers left from the residence and regrouped outside, the footage shows, double and triple-checking with the female officer who attempted to open the door to ensure she had not been struck.
Columbus police said they reentered the residence at 12:48 p.m. to find Miller dead. Police have not said whether he died from shots fired by police or died by suicide.
The Columbus Division of Police does not release names of officers who discharge their weapons during shootings, citing Marsy's Law, a victim rights law that shields the release of crime victim's information. Police contend the officers are victims of a crime.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Body cam footage shows Columbus police shootout that left suspect dead
