The Albany County Sheriff's Department released body cam and dash cam footage from Corporal Derek Colling, who fatally shot 39-year-old Laramie resident Robert Ramirez following a traffic stop earlier this month. The body cam footage cuts off before Colling fired the fatal shots.
The footage shows Colling approaching the vehicle for a traffic stop, tapping on the glass and asking Ramirez to roll down his window. At the press conference where the footage was released, Undersheriff Josh DeBree said it was difficult to confirm what Ramirez was saying from within his vehicle, but it sounded like he was asking why he had been pulled over.
Colling then calls for backup on his radio, at which point the footage shows Ramirez driving off.
The video shows Colling returning to his vehicle to pursue Ramirez for several blocks and into the parking lot of a small apartment complex. Colling exits his vehicle, pursues Ramirez on foot and yells to Ramirez to put his hands up, and then deploys his taser. Ramirez reacts, there's a struggle and that's when the body cam video cuts off.
Undersheriff DeBree said he's yet to speak with Colling about the incident but he assumes the camera became detached from its battery pack.
"It doesn't take any effort in a struggle for the camera to come unplugged," said DeBree. "So that's what we are assuming at this point absent any confirmation from DCI. Obviously, when the camera becomes unplugged from its battery pack it's going to stop working right there."
He indicated that was a problem.
"I would identify it as a new found problem and it's definitely in the back of minds; of how we can prevent that from occurring in the future."
The dash cam from Colling's vehicle, which ran throughout the incident, does show him firing multiple shots at Ramirez on the ground.
Sheriff Dave O'Malley said the exact details of what happened are still under investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. He said he's not certain if DCI was able to obtain other recordings from surveillance cameras or witnesses.
