It’s been over three weeks since the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, and numerous questions remain as to the security failures that led to it, but piece by piece, we’re learning additional information regarding the incident.
On Thursday, Fox News Digital shared new bodycam footage obtained from the local police officer who was boosted up onto the roof and spied the would-be assassin, Thomas Crooks, with his gun moments before the shooting.
The initial part of the video released does not contain audio, so there is no way to determine what was being said as the footage unfolds, though Fox describes some of what was said later. The footage does show the moments where the officer in question was hoisted up onto the roof with the assistance of another officer, momentarily confronted Crooks, then dropped back to the ground.
(Warning: Language)
The footage is taken from two officers from the Butler Township Police Department who made a desperate attempt to stop Crooks moments before he fired his DPMS AR-15 rifle striking former President Trump in the ear, killing Corey Comparatore and injuring two others.
“F—— this close, bro. Dude he turned around on me,” the officer who was hoisted can be heard saying later on in bodycam video released Thursday.
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Crooks pointed his weapon at the officer who scaled the building, before he ultimately ducks his head and loses his grip on the roof’s edge and falls about eight feet to the ground, spraining his ankle, Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights previously told Fox News Digital.
Later footage from after Crooks was taken down by a Secret Service sniper also reflects the officers’ frustration at not being able to locate him sooner and not being able to adequately communicate the threat to others.
The captures Crooks toward the end as officers surround his body after countersnipers fatally shot him.
“I’m f—— p—ed. We couldn’t find him,” another officer can be heard saying in the bodycam footage.
“Before you motherf—–s came up here, I popped my head up there like an idiot by myself dude,” the officer who was boosted onto the roof says. “Then he turned around and I f—— dropped and I started f—— I was calling out bro, f—— on top of the roof. F—— we’re not on the same frequency?”
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According to Fox, additional footage further reveals confusion among law enforcement, but again, the initial portion is without audio available.
In other bodycam video, officers are clearly confused about why the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building, where Crooks shot from, was unmanned.
“I thought you were on the roof?” one officer says.
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“Why were we not on the roof…why weren’t we?”
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There also appears to be confusion about whether the shooter was neutralized and the shooter wasn’t taken out before he opened fire.
“If you’d all had a gun up there … I’d have shot him. He wouldn’t have ripped out a gun up there,” one officer says in the bodycam.
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“I’d say this is a f— up…somebody f—ed up.”
As noted, multiple questions remain as to what went wrong here. Hopefully, the additional information provided will assist in answering at least some of them. It appears we’ve still got a long way to go.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
