OH · 2307 10th Street SW, Canton, OH · January 1, 2022
'I Saw Him Putting the Rifle Away' - Then the Officer Fired
Minutes into New Year's Day 2022, a Canton, Ohio K9 officer heard celebratory rifle fire, drove one block, and about a minute after arriving fired through a backyard privacy fence at 46-year-old James Williams - in the yard of Williams' own home. Twenty seconds before the shots, the officer's own radio described what he was watching at that fence - and the police bodycam footage, the family's own security cameras, and the state's frame-by-frame review carry the rest of the…
Reconstructed timeline
Times from synchronized camera clocks and dispatch records.
11:59 PM
Family fires guns to celebrate the New Year
Per the household's own DVR cameras, James Williams, Jermal Monday and Janairul Williams fire firearms in the backyard around midnight while Marquetta films; Marquetta also fires a pistol. On DVR channel CH4 the subject raises a long gun and aims upward over the fence line. Time is the reported…
12:05 AM
Huber radios rifle fire nearby
Officer Huber: '[Unintelligible] Eleventh and Arlington South West, shots [unintelligible] a rifle.' Paris adds it is 'probably the third burst he did.' Document-stated radio time.
12:06 AM
Huber on foot approaches the residence
Huber's BWC: he walks the sidewalk past parked cars and a cruiser with lights running, then around behind the house toward a brightly lit back porch. This is the shooter's POV in the ~60 seconds before the shots.
12:06 AM
Huber reports armed male inside residence, requests cars
Huber: '2307 11th Avenue, male inside the residence with a firearm, rifle, heavy set black male. CanCom can you send me some cars please?' (address later corrected to 10th St). Document-stated radio time.
12:07 AM
Huber: saw the male through the fence, went to the porch
Huber (radio correction): '2307 10th Street South West. Saw the males head um through the fence after I heard the shots. Got out of my cruiser went up to the porch and I saw him putting the rifle away.' Huber's own account of what preceded the shooting. Document-stated radio time.
12:07 AM
Shots fired - Huber discharges his weapon
BCI/OOCIC forensic bodycam frame (export BWC2-041234, the same camera as file 004) at burned stamp 00:07:26 shows a near-black frame with a red motion blur paired with the largest audio spike in the sequence - consistent with the gunshots. Williams was struck in the chest. Huber's 'Shots Fired!'…
12:07 AM
Huber calls shots fired, requests everyone
Huber: 'CanCom shots fired. Send us everybody.' Document-stated radio time.
12:08 AM
Declared an officer-involved shooting
Paris: 'CanCom this is going to be an officer-involved shooting.' Document-stated radio time.
12:08 AM
Marquetta Williams calls 911
A frantic female caller (identified as Marquetta Williams) tells dispatch she needs an ambulance at 2307 10th Street and that her husband was shot; crying and a barking dog in the background. Time from the 911 recording filename (adopted as a wall clock in clocks.json). Call ran 2 min 44 sec.
12:08 AM
Occupants inside refuse commands
Paris: 'We have occupants of the house, inside, refusing commands.' Document-stated radio time.
12:09 AM
Household commanded out - juveniles and adults exit
Paris: commanding everybody out; 'three juveniles out, two adults.' Corresponds to the officers' on-camera advance and commands on the responding-officer BWC. Document-stated radio time.
12:10 AM
Huber equips a rifle for entry and advances
Huber's BWC: he returns to K9-60, opens the rear hatch, unbags and readies a carbine, then advances toward the house at low ready alongside Officer 2 - the entry stack forming after the shooting.
12:10 AM
Officers enter, find Williams shot on the living room floor
Responding-officer BWC: officers enter the house and discover an injured heavy-set male lying on the living room floor with gunshot wounds. GRAPHIC. Wall time from the reconciled index.
12:10 AM
Victim reported: shot to the chest
Paris: 'CanCom. We have a victim, living room, heavy set black male, shot to the chest.' Document-stated radio time.
12:11 AM
Officers and medics render aid - chest seals
Responding-officer BWC: officers and medical personnel cut Williams' shirt, assess gunshot wounds to chest/torso, and apply multiple chest seals. GRAPHIC. Officers Foster, Jatich, Little and Paris rendered aid until EMS took over. Wall time from the reconciled index.
12:16 AM
Medics backboard and carry Williams out to EMS
Responding-officer BWC: fire department medics bring a backboard into the room, secure Williams and carry him out to a waiting unit; he was transported to Aultman Hospital. EMS run report lists response times from ~00:08:41. Wall time from the reconciled index (media 612s).
Scene maps
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