Video: US man beats father to death with bat before police shoot him dead
Bodycam footage shows a Meriden officer shooting Robert Jenkins III after repeated orders to stop attacking his father with a baseball bat. The deaths of both men have shocked neighbours and triggered a standard Inspector General investigation into the police use of force.
A horrific police bodycam video has captured the final moments of a deadly tragedy in Connecticut, showing a man repeatedly striking his father with a baseball bat outside their home. Officers opened fire after he ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and stop the attack.
The footage, released by investigators, shows 38-year-old Robert Jenkins III carrying out the brutal attack on Sunday morning in front of the family's home in Meriden. The victim, later identified as his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr., was lying motionless on the lawn as the assault continued.
According to a preliminary report released by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, Officer Anthony Offiaeli was the first to reach the scene after multiple 911 callers reported an armed domestic violence incident. The report states that when the officer arrived, Jenkins III was "bludgeoning a male, who was lying motionless on the front lawn, in the head with a baseball bat."
Bodycam footage shows Offiaeli approaching the suspect with his firearm drawn while repeatedly shouting for him to drop the bat. Authorities said the officer issued the command four times, but Jenkins ignored every warning and continued attacking his father.
Investigators said Offiaeli then fired multiple rounds, striking Jenkins III, who dropped the bat and collapsed on the ground. Reports indicate the officer discharged at least 18 rounds during the confrontation.
BOTH FATHER AND SON DIED
Emergency responders rushed both men to hospital, but neither survived.
Authorities said Robert Jenkins Jr. died from severe blunt force injuries to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.
Jenkins III succumbed later that night to multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also ruled his death a homicide, a legal classification commonly used in fatal police shootings without determining criminal liability.
Investigators initially withheld the father's identity under a Connecticut law designed to protect victims of domestic violence, but he was later identified as Robert Jenkins Jr. The Connecticut Inspector General's Office is investigating the police shooting, as is standard procedure following any fatal use of force by an officer in the state.
A horrific police bodycam video has captured the final moments of a deadly tragedy in Connecticut, showing a man repeatedly striking his father with a baseball bat outside their home. Officers opened fire after he ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and stop the attack.
The footage, released by investigators, shows 38-year-old Robert Jenkins III carrying out the brutal attack on Sunday morning in front of the family's home in Meriden. The victim, later identified as his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr., was lying motionless on the lawn as the assault continued.
According to a preliminary report released by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, Officer Anthony Offiaeli was the first to reach the scene after multiple 911 callers reported an armed domestic violence incident. The report states that when the officer arrived, Jenkins III was "bludgeoning a male, who was lying motionless on the front lawn, in the head with a baseball bat."
Bodycam footage shows Offiaeli approaching the suspect with his firearm drawn while repeatedly shouting for him to drop the bat. Authorities said the officer issued the command four times, but Jenkins ignored every warning and continued attacking his father.
Investigators said Offiaeli then fired multiple rounds, striking Jenkins III, who dropped the bat and collapsed on the ground. Reports indicate the officer discharged at least 18 rounds during the confrontation.
BOTH FATHER AND SON DIED
Emergency responders rushed both men to hospital, but neither survived.
Authorities said Robert Jenkins Jr. died from severe blunt force injuries to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.
Jenkins III succumbed later that night to multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also ruled his death a homicide, a legal classification commonly used in fatal police shootings without determining criminal liability.
Investigators initially withheld the father's identity under a Connecticut law designed to protect victims of domestic violence, but he was later identified as Robert Jenkins Jr. The Connecticut Inspector General's Office is investigating the police shooting, as is standard procedure following any fatal use of force by an officer in the state.
A horrific police bodycam video has captured the final moments of a deadly tragedy in Connecticut, showing a man repeatedly striking his father with a baseball bat outside their home. Officers opened fire after he ignored repeated commands to drop the weapon and stop the attack.
The footage, released by investigators, shows 38-year-old Robert Jenkins III carrying out the brutal attack on Sunday morning in front of the family's home in Meriden. The victim, later identified as his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr., was lying motionless on the lawn as the assault continued.
According to a preliminary report released by the Connecticut Office of the Inspector General, Officer Anthony Offiaeli was the first to reach the scene after multiple 911 callers reported an armed domestic violence incident. The report states that when the officer arrived, Jenkins III was "bludgeoning a male, who was lying motionless on the front lawn, in the head with a baseball bat."
Bodycam footage shows Offiaeli approaching the suspect with his firearm drawn while repeatedly shouting for him to drop the bat. Authorities said the officer issued the command four times, but Jenkins ignored every warning and continued attacking his father.
Investigators said Offiaeli then fired multiple rounds, striking Jenkins III, who dropped the bat and collapsed on the ground. Reports indicate the officer discharged at least 18 rounds during the confrontation.
BOTH FATHER AND SON DIED
Emergency responders rushed both men to hospital, but neither survived.
Authorities said Robert Jenkins Jr. died from severe blunt force injuries to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.
Jenkins III succumbed later that night to multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner also ruled his death a homicide, a legal classification commonly used in fatal police shootings without determining criminal liability.
Investigators initially withheld the father's identity under a Connecticut law designed to protect victims of domestic violence, but he was later identified as Robert Jenkins Jr. The Connecticut Inspector General's Office is investigating the police shooting, as is standard procedure following any fatal use of force by an officer in the state.
