Bodycam video released in Alexandria police shooting – NBC4 Washington

Body camera video shows the fatal shooting of a man by Alexandria police, which prosecutors say was justified.

Video of the mid-August incident shows a man who police say was suffering from mental health issues at an apartment complex on Van Dorn Street. Officers tried to get the man, Paul Behan, to drop his weapon for at least 20 minutes.

Police responded to a call from one of Behan's colleagues who feared Behan was planning to kill himself.

“He's been suspended and I kind of feel bad because he might lose his job,” the caller told 911.

The caller also told police that Behan had separated from his wife, had a gun and was drinking.

A video shows him opening the door to his apartment with a gun pointed at his head.

Police were heard saying: “Please don’t do it. Don't do it, man. Don't do it”

Behan briefly went back in, but came out with the gun.

The officers who responded first went back upstairs but continued to talk to Behan to calm him down. They continued to ask him to put the gun away and to stop approaching them.

Behan then pointed the gun at the police, who continued to retreat.

“Paul, I don’t think you want to hurt us, and I don’t think you want to hurt yourself,” one officer said. “So, I think you should put the gun down.”

Additional officers, including a trained negotiator, were called to the scene.

“You’re a good man,” the negotiator said. “You don’t deserve to hurt yourself.”

About six minutes later, Behan pointed his gun at police again. A 9-year veteran assigned as a deck officer fired three times, killing Behan.

No officers were injured.

Acting Police Chief Paul Pedroso told reporters that officers followed police procedures in crisis situations – create space and try to de-escalate.

“I think the officers acted admirably that night,” he said. “Our training and everything that drives our decision-making is to try to slow things down and create as much time and opportunity that the situation can be resolved without incident.”

The Northern Virginia Critical Incident Response Team investigated the shooting to make the assessment that the commonwealth's attorney used in making its decision.