Recently released bodycam footage shows the moment a police officer is lifted onto the roof where potential Trump assassin Thomas Crooks is hiding – and suddenly finds himself staring down the gunman’s barrel.
The footage, obtained by Fox News Digital, comes from the Butler Township police officer who climbed onto the roof of AGR International on July 13.
The officer is seen being lifted up by another officer. As he tries to pull himself up, he looks over the ledge.
Within a moment, he drops back to the ground and runs around the building, seemingly warning his colleagues and passersby watching nearby.
Seconds later, Crooks opened fire on the former president’s rally, hitting him in the ear and killing a bystander. The gunman was dead seconds after his first shot.
The clip initially has no sound, but gets louder about halfway through, revealing the chaos of the scene.
“He’s wearing glasses and has long hair,” the officer said, describing Crooks’ backpack and the AR-15 rifle he was carrying.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, has been identified as the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot by secret service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief and injured two other rally attendees.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he had searched for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- The crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile individuals and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials said.
- Trump told the Washington Post exclusively at the rally how he survived the “surreal” assassination attempt, noting, “I should be dead.”
- Senior politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrific and cowardly act.”
Calls can be heard over the officers’ radio requesting an ambulance to come to the rally’s VIP tent.
After standing back for a moment and surrounding the building, the officers advance and begin lifting each other onto the roof.
The officer who first looked over the roof then demands to be allowed back on the roof. Crooks is seen lying dead with a long trail of blood running down the slope of the roof.
The ledge he had climbed onto was about 12 feet above the ground. He fell about 8 feet and sprained his ankle when Crooks pointed his gun at him.
The officer was unable to point his own gun at Crooks because both of his hands were stuck as he tried to pull himself onto the roof, Butler Township police Lt. Matthew Pearson previously said – which is clearly visible on footage from his body camera.
As the footage continues, the officer appears annoyed that police forces were not communicating on the same radio channels.
“Before you motherfuckers came up here, I stuck my head up there by myself like an idiot, dude,” he says. “Then he turned around and I fucking fell down and started f*****ing and yelling ‘Brother, f*****’ up on the roof.”
“Damn, are we not on the same wavelength?”
