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Drop It! Drop It!': Graphic Video Captures the Chaotic Moment Police Open Fire on Mentally Ill Man
Image via YouTube

Drop It! Drop It!': Graphic Video Captures the Chaotic Moment Police Open Fire on Mentally Ill Man

"Bipolar schizo."

"Oh, you killed my child!"

The words rang out seconds after the gunshots — and as the shooting footage was revealed to the public on Monday, debate is raging over whether police did the right thing.

One thing is for sure: The video shows how things can go from calm to chaotic in mere seconds.

The fatal shooting occurred in June, when two Dallas police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at the home of 38-year-old Jason Harrison, a mentally ill man whose family had called police on him several times before.

In footage captured by the personal bodycam of officer Andrew Hutchins, Harrison's mother appears at the door of the home, telling the officers, "He's off the chain," of her son, who's standing behind her in the doorway.

She exits the home, saying, "Bipolar schizo," as the officers greet Harrison.

But they quickly see he's holding a screwdriver and command him to drop it.

Image via YouTube

Mere seconds after greeting Harrison, the officers are shouting, "Drop it!" at him as Harrison's mother starts screaming, "Jay!"

The camera doesn't stay trained on Harrison, but he doesn't drop the screwdriver and it appears that he lunges towards the officers — and that's when one opens fire.

Image via YouTube

The shooting occurs a few minutes into the video — the rest of the 18-minute clip shows the aftermath of the incident.

Hutchins and his partner, John Rogers, continue to tell Harrison to drop the screwdriver. Only after it becomes apparent that Harrison has passed out does another officer take the screwdriver from him.

More officers show up at the scene, and eventually the paramedics.

"We were here just a couple of weeks ago," one of the paramedic says. "We knew it was just a matter of time before something else went down."

Watch the fatal incident unfold below (content warning: strong language and disturbing violence):

Rogers and Hutchins seem well aware of the gravity of what just happened, saying, "We shouldn't talk about it," and, "They're gonna separate us," as other officers ask them about their attorneys and union membership.

Hutchins several times tells the arriving backup, "I got it on camera."

In October, Harrison's family filed a lawsuit against the two officers and the city of Dallas, claiming that Harrison was "an unarmed man" who "did not pose a risk of injury to himself or others."

Police did not release the video from the shooting until Monday, and while Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the video supports the officers' accounts that the shooting was justified, Harrison's family feels differently.

"I just don't want to believe it's acceptable in Dallas, Texas, that's how we treat mentally ill people in this town," Harrison's brother David said in a press conference Monday, the Dallas Observer reported.

The Dallas District Attorney's office has not yet determined whether to turn the case over to a grand jury, the Dallas Observer noted.

Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter

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