Police in Utah released bodycam footage of officers shooting and killing a man while he was stabbing his parents to death on New Year’s Day.
According to CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City, emergency dispatchers in nearby West Valley City received a 911 call that was garbled but appears to sound like two people engaged in a struggle.
In response, police were sent to the home to investigate.
In the video, officers are seen knocking on the door, but no one answers. Cops then went to the basement entrance at the back of the home, kicked in the door and ran down the stairs.
After reaching the basement, the recording shows a man, later identified as 35-year-old Erik Bertelsen, stabbing a person on the floor.
“Show me your hands,” one officers yells at the man, also ordering him to drop the knife.
After ignoring the commands and continuing to stab the victim, one cop fired two gunshots to stop the assault.
The attacker was killed. His parents, Kerry, 67, and Terrie, 63, were pronounced dead at the scene.
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In Utah, state records must be released to the public.
“We are compelled by our state’s open records laws to release any open records we create,” city spokesperson Roxanne Vainuku told KUTV. “Body cam recorded video is considered a record.”
Police were reluctant to make the video public.
“Because of the tragedy of it,” said West Valley City Police Chief Colleen Jacobs.
Officials haven’t closed the investigation as the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office continues to look at the case.
According to online obituaries, the couple is survived by daughter Jennifer Galloway, son Easton Bertelsen and grandchildren.