Body Cam Footage Of Colorado Deputy Killing Released

DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO -- A video released Monday by the Douglas Co. Sheriff's department features the voice of slain Deputy Zackari Parrish speaking to Matt Riehl, the man who would later shoot and kill him in a hail of more than 100 bullets.

“Hey, Matt. It’s Zack,” Parrish says in the video. “Yes, we can help you. I’m with the sheriff’s office. Right here, man. We can talk out here. I want to make sure you’re OK.”

"We lost a deputy, his wife lost a husband, their children lost a father," said Douglas Co. Sheriff Tony Spurlock in the video. "It's so important to me to share with you what happened on Dec. 31." In statement the Sheriff's office said:

With permission and support from the Zackari Parrish family, as well as that of the injured deputies and their families, this video is intended to communicate directly with the employees of the Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County and the communities we serve and to you about what happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, December 31.

The video allows the viewer to hear the compassion with which Zackari Parrish interacted with the citizen, the attempts at helping the citizen, the storm of gunfire that deputies encountered from the citizen, and the attempts at a rescue of our deputy. In the production of this video, we have removed all images and audio of the suspect, being sensitive to the families involved, our employees and members of our community impacted by this tragedy.

The video shows that the deputies had been to the Copper Canyon apartment complex in Highlands Ranch earlier in the morning, around 3 a.m. on a noise complaint, and then were summoned back around 5:17 a.m. Dec. 31. The video also shows that deputies determined that Riehl was "having manic episode" and agreed to take him into custody on an "M1," or mental health hold.

“At 5:57, this is what took place, ” Spurlock said in the video. The video shows bullet holes and plays audio of gunfire and voices yelling, “Back up! Back up! Back Up!”
“Deputy Parrish was shot and fell in a doorway,” Spurlock said. “Taylor went out a window head first. And Mike and Jeff were also hit immediately and they went out the front door.”

Riehl was broadcasting the ambush live through the social media app Periscope, the Denver Post reported.

A SWAT team finally killed Riehl later that morning.

“I’m very proud of the officers — the men and women — who were on that call that night,” Spurlock said. “They did exactly what they were trained to do. They provided aid. They provided service. They provided care and compassion. And, unfortunately, it turned violent.”

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Image via Douglas Co. sheriff's Dept.