NY AG releases body camera footage of fatal officer-involved shooting in Rockland County

The videos show the vantage points from both state troopers involved in the shooting of Rakim Tillery on Jan. 3 on the Thruway.

Jonathan Gordon

Mar 26, 2024, 4:46 PM

Updated 274 days ago

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Warning: The following video may be disturbing to some viewers
New York Attorney General Letitia James released two clips of body camera video that unveiled new details of the fatal shooting between two state troopers and a man wanted for attempted murder in Albany as part of her ongoing investigation.
Police fatally shot 35-year-old Rakim Tillery on Jan. 3, 2024, after trying to pull him over on the New York State Thruway southbound between exits 15 and 15A, according to investigators.
Earlier in the day, police in Albany said Tillery shot a man in the head before getting in a car to escape. The man Tillery shot died two days later, according to Albany police.
New York State Police identified Tillery's vehicle from an alert issued by the Albany police hours earlier.
The first clip is one minute and 10 seconds and shows the perspective of Trooper Steven Missale. It starts with Missale in his patrol car beginning the traffic stop. Missale gets out of his car and immediately yells "don't" as you hear gunshots in the background. The trooper returns multiple gunshots at the suspect from over the top of his driver's side door. Police said Tillery shot first.
The shooting stops and Missale yells "get down" as he charges at the suspect. The suspect's weapon is several feet away from him on the ground. The pair struggle on the ground for a few seconds and the video shows the suspect's hands around the barrel and the trigger of the officer's gun. At this point, Trooper Ronald Raymond is also on the scene.
The video from Trooper Missale's body cam continues and you hear another gunshot and the suspect yell out in agony. A few seconds later, another shot is fired as the suspect keeps his grip on Missale's weapon. Tillery eventually lets go of the weapon and lays motionless on the road face down.
The NYAG also released a 56-second clip from Trooper Raymond's body camera which shows him arriving on the scene as the second officer behind Massale. Raymond immediately retreats as he gets out of the car and sees the shooting unfolding in front of him.
After stumbling for a few seconds Raymond, pulls out his gun, then charges towards the scene yelling "stay down" multiple times. From his camera, you get a wide perspective of Missale and Tillery wrestling on the ground. You can see Tillery keeping his hands on Missale's gun. As Tillery and Missale struggle on the ground you hear at least two additional gunshots but it's unclear from whom they came. The video ends as Raymond backs away, and you see Missale standing over Tillery, who is motionless on the road face down.
According to the AG's release, both officers fired their weapons at Tillery, and a gun was recovered. Tillery died at the scene.
The attorney general's office investigates every fatal incident involving a police officer in New York.