Shocking dashcam footage shows cops trying to run over mentally ill homeless man before shooting him 14 times
Officers Randy Lozoya and John Tennis tried to run over mentally-ill Joseph Mann with their police vehicle before shooting him at least 14 times
DISTURBING footage released shows two cops trying to hit a mentally ill homeless man before fatally shooting him at least 14 times.
Dashcam recording and audio enhanced by shows officers Randy Lozoya and John Tennis pursuing suspect Joseph Mann, 50, before he was killed after being shot multiple times.
The shocking clip shows one of the officers can be heard saying "f*** this guy, I'm going to hit him" as the other officer responds "Ok, go for it, go for it".
The driver then aim their vehicle toward the suspect Mann, backed up, turned and then drove toward him again.
Mann, who was found to be a mentally ill homeless man, dodged the car twice before cops got out of the car and chased him on foot before the fatal shooting.
According to the footage, Mann tells officers he did not have a gun, contrary to a 911 report.
In the video, an officer said: “Get your hands up and get on the ground. They said you had a gun. Get on the ground.”
Mann: “I don’t have a gun.”
Officer: “Get on the ground. Get on the ground.”
Police later confirmed no gun was found, although they found a knife.
The shocking incident, which took place on July 11 in Sacramento, California, US, sparked protests in the area who say the Sacramento Police Department officers escalated the situation and unnecessarily resorted to lethal force.
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But police spokesman Bryce Heinlein, who said that Lozoya and Tennis are currently on "modified duty", said police training does include using vehicles as a weapon.
He added: "'That is something we discuss in our use-of-force training, using a vehicle as a deadly weapon."
The victim's brother, Robert Mann, told Sacramento Bee the two officers "shouldn't be in uniform" adding "if this is their state of mind when they go to work, this doesn't serve anyone well".
He also told , “Police lied to me flat out - they told me my brother was aggressive, he was coming at officers and they had no time to make any other decision but to shoot my brother.”
Following the footage Mann's family lawyer John Burris said the two officers acted "coyboyish".
He confirmed the family has filed a lawsuit against the city.
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