Bodycam footage shows police shooting Cale Gilbert in Jacksonville after he fired at a couple and rammed their car.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bodycam footage released Friday shows the moments leading up to a deadly police shooting last month in Jacksonville.
On August 25, nine officers shot and killed 37-year-old Cale Gilbert. A couple from Georgia, who was fishing, says Gilbert fired at them at a boat ramp in Atlantic Beach near the Dutton Island Preserve. While trying to escape, the couple was on the phone with 911 when the suspect rammed his truck into their car.
During the 911 call, the victim can be heard saying, “Oh my God, I’m so scared. I’m so scared.”
The dispatcher asks, “Is he in front of you or behind you still?”
The victim says, “He, he flew past us, and then he turned around and he just tried to hit us head on, but we swerved and he rammed us into the side of the truck.”
Surveillance video then captured what happened next. The suspect crashed into a Jeep while crossing an intersection on Mayport Road. He then lost control of the truck and slammed into some nearby bushes. Patrol cars caught up moments later.
For nearly 90 minutes, the suspect refused officers’ orders to come out of the truck. A warning – the next video clip contains audio of the fatal shooting. Officers opened fire when they say Gilbert reached into a rifle case.
JSO’s dive team later recovered the suspect’s rifle from the water at the original crime scene by the dock. Investigators also found 47 shell casings.
The State Attorney’s Office will determine if the officers’ shooting was justified.
The video is can be seen in full by clicking here. Warning: It may be graphic.