Body camera video shows two now former St. Louis police officers walking away from a gunshot victim because it was nearing the end of one of the cop's shifts.
The footage is from September 2023 and shows police officers Austin Fraser and Ty Warren responding to a 911 call around 6:20 p.m. The call had been placed by Urayoan Rodriguez-Rivera, who said he planned to take his own life, First Alert 4 reported.
In the video, Fraser and Warren quickly find Rodriguez-Rivera body under a tree in a park with a bullet wound to the head. Rodriquez-Rivera's labored breathing can be heard on video. The officers take no action. Rather, Fraser mentions the fact that he's supposed to be off in 30 minutes and then says, "let's cruise around and come back."
The men then walk away from the body, laughing. Warren turns off the camera. The footage picks up about 10 minutes later with the officers returning to the park and pretending to have just found Rodriguez-Rivera.
This time, they call in the shooting and ask for emergency medical assistance. Other officers arrive on the scene, render aid to Rodriguez-Rivera, and cordoned off the area of the shooting with crime scene tape. While the other officers work the scene, Fraser and Warren leave, something that is noted by the other officers.
"You know what's f***** up? Warren and Fraser just left," an officer says on a different body cam video. "Why?" responds the other officer.
Later, according to First Alert 4, another officer says he's going to "out" Fraser, adding, "You can't just leave."
The TV station noted that a supervisor reviewing Warren's body camera initiated an internal investigation into the matter.
"The two individuals are no longer employed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. While we are unable to comment on specific personnel matters, SLMPD holds its officers to the highest of standards. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken if an officer is found to have violated policies," stated Mitch McCoy, a spokesperson for SLMPD to First Alert 4.
Although Rodriguez-Rivera's death was ruled a suicide, the gun was never secured by Fraser and Warren, and subsequent responding officers never found it. It is listed by police as "stolen."
