St. Louis Officials Under Fire After Refusing To Help Dying Man Because Shift Was About To End

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Two officers in St. Louis left a man with a gunshot wound to the head, as one mentioned his shift was nearly over. Body camera footage revealed officers Ty Warren and Austin Fraser responded to a suicide call in Forest Park on Sept. 10, 2023, per PEOPLE

A complaint from the St. Louis Department of Safety to the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission, accessed by PEOPLE, includes a portion of the transcript of the officers’ conversation. This exchange aligns with what was shown in the reported body camera footage. 

“We ain’t taking this sh—…Let’s cruise around and come back,”

Officer Fraser said, per  the complaint. 

The bodycam footage captured Fraser saying,

  “I get off in 30 minutes.”

The two officers left the man, identified as Urayoan Rodriguez-Rivera, who, sadly, later died. They drove around the area before returning to the scene. They didn’t inform the third officer who later found Rodriguez-Rivera when he responded to the call, and reported his condition immediately upon arrival. 

First Alert 4 also has footage from another officer’s body camera, showing Fraser and Warren leaving when other officers arrived. The complaint mentions Warren admitted making a “dumb” choice, influenced by Fraser’s pressure.

The department said in a message to PEOPLE,

“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.”

#Clique, what are your thoughts? 

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