MLPD RELEASES BODYCAM FOOTAGE
The Mammoth Lakes Police Department (MLPD) released bodycam footage Thursday afternoon from the officer-involved shooting incident which led to local resident Jesus Corona Uribe’s death on March 4.
The footage will be located on the MLPD website – www.mammothlakespd.org. There will also be a link to the video posted on the MLPD Facebook page.
The video features bodycam footage from two officers and some slides with subtitles to set the scene and provide background.
The 911 call went out at 11:40 a.m. on March 4 and the shooting occurred at 11:41. The footage ends as medical units are called to the scene.
The bodycam footage was taken by Sgt. Joe Vetter and Officer Chris Hoodman. When the call came in, they had just been arriving at Giovanni’s Restaurant for lunch.
Mr. Uribe, in a state of intoxication/mental distress, had been throwing rocks at passing motor vehicles.
The video starts with officers yelling at Uribe, standing on the berm behind the Giovanni’s dumpster, to drop the rocks in his possession and stand down.
One of the rocks, at that time, is located in his left hand and the other is resting in the crook of his left elbow.
Mr. Uribe, after a period of say, 15-20 seconds, takes off running up the sidewalk, behind Giovanni’s, towards the bike path.
At the time of the call, two other officers, Detective Brian Madera (in plainclothes) and Officer Dennis Saulque, were in a school safety meeting being held at the Mammoth Lakes Library. They exited the Library, and moved a patrol vehicle to set up a perimeter on the access road leading to the library.
Because they were not on patrol at the time, they were not wearing bodycams.
They exited the vehicle and were moving towards the intersection to the road leading up to the school district offices.
Uribe sees them and then makes a sharp left beeline directly towards them.
By now he’s got a rock in each hand. The rocks appear to be somewhere between a baseball and softball in size.
The distance between Mr. Uribe and the officers is approximately 15 feet.
Uribe begins to rear his arm back. Madera, gun drawn, is yelling at him to stop. Uribe then cocks his arm for a second time and does a little bunny hop to gain some momentum for a throw. Which never comes, as Madera and Saulque discharge their weapons and drop Uribe to the pavement.
There are definitely more than three shots. It’s hard to tell. There could be ten shots.
The rock in Uribe’s right hand comes rolling down the sidewalk at a decent clip. Vetter stops it with his shoe. The rock in Uribe’s left hand is literally dropped where he lies.
And then the videos end.
The short video is not narrated.
A slide presented before the bodycam footage gives a brief description as to what officers knew about Mr. Uribe from prior history before they reached the scene.
It reads: “The involved officers were familiar with Mr. Uribe due to multiple past encounters with law enforcement, which included Mr. Uribe charging a police officer and assaulting a probation officer with a shovel. In addition, officers were aware Mr. Uribe was on supervised release for an assault with a deadly weapon conviction.”
Mr. Uribe’s family was invited in to view the footage on Tuesday.
Mssrs. Madera and Saulque are currently on administrative leave, but may be eligible to return to work next month according to MLPD Chief Dan Casabian.
