SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Police Department has released video footage of a police shooting on March 23, 2021, in which a Sacramento police officer and a suspect were injured after both exchanged gunfire in the South Sacramento area.
The Sacramento Police Department said in a press release that the shooting took place after an officer responded to a report of shots fired around midnight along the 5900 block of Tangerine Avenue. Sacramento police said that after the officer came in contact with 32-year-old Joshua Hippard, the two shot at each other. This exchange was followed by a standoff that lasted several hours, according to the press release.
The video released by the Sacramento Police Department contains audio from the 911 call and body camera and street footage.
WARNING: This video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion advised.
In the video, the 911 caller describes hearing about five gunshots near Tangerine Avenue in Sacramento. Street footage shows the officer approach Hippard in his patrol vehicle. There is no sound in the video, but the viewer can see that as the suspect walks past the patrol car, there is some sort of exchange. Sacramento police said this is when Hippard allegedly fired shots at the officer. The officer then appears to get out of his car while it is still rolling and fires at the suspect. The patrol car hits some parked cars on the side of the street and the officer runs to find cover.
In body camera video from the responding officer, the viewer can see the officer driving, then suddenly exit his car and fire several gun shots at a man, later identified as Hippard, who is running away. Hippard falls in the street.
The officer takes cover. He reports that the "gun's still in his hands," and that he believes the man has "just reloaded." He also tells a second officer that he, the officer, has been hit by a gunshot to the chest, but that he thinks it hit his vest.
Further body cam footage shows part of the standoff, during which officers repeatedly tell Hippard to move away from the gun. According to a spokesperson for Sacramento Police Department in the video, Hippard refused to move away from his gun during the course of negotiations, and eventually an Explosive Ordinance Disposal robot was used to move the gun away. Video of that extraction is shown, as is the conclusion of the incident where officers approach the prone Hippard and later take him to a hospital.
Hippard was booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail several days later on attempted murder charges, Sacramento police said. The officer who was injured was protected from major injuries by his vest and he has since been released from the hospital.
