Colorado Springs police release limited footage of fatal officer shooting on Prairie Grass Lane

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Limited body camera footage of the Oct. 7 officer-involved shooting that left 41-year-old Matthew Kemper dead has been released by Colorado Springs Police Department.

At the start of the video released Tuesday afternoon, it is explained that three officers were present during the incident, but the body cameras of the officer involved and one of the witnessing officers were not recording during the first few minutes, as is required both by state law and department policy.

The Police Department says the officers' camera systems experienced a technical failure, which is currently being investigated by the vendor and the department.

Just before midnight on Oct. 7, the Police Department started receiving reports of a suicidal man at a residence in the 5100 block of Prairie Grass Lane. The party who called told police that a roommate was making suicidal statements, had blood on his hands, and was holding a knife.

According to police, the reporting party claimed he was not in any danger at the time of the first call. The party was instructed to call back if the situation changed and the call ended.

In response to the initial report, two patrol officers and a supervisor were dispatched to the scene. When they arrived, they made contact with a roommate of the suspect outside of the residence. This roommate was not the reporting party, according to police.

The reporting party, still inside, called police again after officers arrived, stating the suspect, later identified as Kemper, had resumed cutting himself with a knife and was acting "erratically."

In the briefing video, audio from the second 911 call was released. In the phone call, the reporting party also stated that Kemper was naked and was refusing to hand over the knife. The roommate asks police to "please hurry" and dispatch responds they have units in the area.

Due to safety concerns for the roommate, officers entered the residence to attempt to deescalate the situation and assist in removing the caller.

The video states that officers opened the door to the house, announced themselves as police, and asked the roommate to come outside. Police commanded Kemper to stay where he was.

At this point, Kemper allegedly ignored the commands of law enforcement and rushed toward the officers with the knife. An officer fired four shots from his handgun, striking him several times, as seen later in the video while the officers were providing medical aid.

With the limited footage available, the video does not show Kemper rushing toward officers, but officers can be heard telling the suspect to "stop!" right before the four shots were fired. Right after, the supervisor's camera, the only camera footage released Tuesday, turns to the side, limiting visibility of the incident following the shots fired.

After Kemper was shot, officers took him into custody and began to provide emergency medical aid until paramedics arrived on the scene. Kemper was then taken to a local hospital, where he later died as a result of his injuries.