WALNUT CREEK (KRON) — The Walnut Creek Police Department has released body cam footage that shows the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of Miles Hall earlier this month. 

Miles Hall was fatally shot by Walnut Creek police on June 2.

Police had responded to Sandra Court after receiving 911 calls reporting Hall was threatening his mother and grandmother. 

When police arrived, they found Hall carrying what appeared to be a crowbar.

Police say that the officers first tried to stop Hall by shooting non-lethal bean bags at him when he refused to put down the weapon.

When he charged at them, the two officers fired their guns, killing the 23-year-old.

The family believes the officers did not use proper de-escalation techniques when they arrived on the scene on June 2 and that Miles’ death was preventable.

“As can be seen on the videos, the contact with Mr. Hall happened rapidly and did not allow for an opportunity for dialogue with Mr. Hall before he presented a threat to officers, which led to the use of force,” Walnut Creek PD said in a statement Tuesday. 

Civil Rights Attorney John Burris, who represents the family, says Hall should not be dead.

“Mr. Hall was shot down, gunned down as if he were a roaming steer,” Burris said.

Burris is convinced police failed to deescalate a frantic situation that he says should never have resulted in lethal force against a mentally ill person.

“The police were not seemingly prepared to deal with this in a non confrontational way,” Burris said.

The police department has released the role each of the 5 officers involved had during the incident: 

  • Sergeant Holly Connors: Supervisor on scene with 12 years of law enforcement. Connors is on the CCCC Crisis Negotiations Team and was armed with a rifle during the incident; she did not fire her weapon
  • Officer KC Hsiao: Officer Hsiao fired his handgun during the incident. He has four years of law enforcement experience
  • Officer Tammy Keagy: Keagy had her Taser deployed but did not utilize it; Keagy, who has 17 years of law enforcement experience, was previously assigned to the Mental Health Evaluation Team and is on the CCCC Crisis Negotiations Team 
  • Officer Melissa Murphy: Murphy fired her handgun during the incident; she has one year of law enforcement experience
  • Officer Matt Smith: Smith deployed a less-than-lethal bean bag shotgun during the incident; he has 6 years of law enforcement experience

The investigation into this incident is ongoing.