Investigators on Thursday released body-worn camera footage and named two Sedro-Woolley police officers involved with the shooting of David Babcock, 51 of Concrete, during an attempted police stop on Feb. 16.
Babcock first eluded police in Mt. Vernon when they attempted a traffic stop. Investigators say they believed the vehicle Babcock was driving was stolen.
Later, Sedro-Woolley officers spotted Babcock and attempted to stop him with spike strips near North Fruitdale Road and McGarigle Road, northeast of Sedro-Woolley. Babcock attempted to drive around the spike strips, and when he got closer to one of the four officers on the scene, an officer fired several shots at the vehicle.
Babcock was shot in the back of the head, according to his family. He was airlifted to PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center after the shooting and died from his injuries on Feb. 17.
Investigators Thursday named Sedro-Woolley Police Sergeant Paul Eaton and Officer Maxwell Rosser as two officers on the scene of the shooting. According to the Skagit Valley Herald, Rosser was sworn into his position on March 24, 2021.
A press release from Skagit-Island Mulitple Agency Response Team (SMART), investigating the shooting, provided the first detailed account by police of the officer’s actions at the scene:
“They deployed spike strips from the west side of the road as the vehicle Mr. Babcock was driving approached the intersection. The vehicle left the roadway on the west shoulder and continued southbound towards the officers’ location. Officer Rosser fired multiple rounds at the oncoming vehicle. The vehicle slowed and hit a Sedro-Woolley Police car parked near the intersection. The vehicle then rolled backwards, stopped and both officers contacted the driver.”
Police released separate clips from the two officers. The clips show Babcock’s vehicle approaching the spike strips and then swerving off the road in the general direction of the officers. In a Feb. 28 interview, his family said they believed he was swerving to avoid the spike strips. As Babcock passed Rosser, Rosser fired several shots. The vehicle rolled into a police cruiser, and then rolled backward across the road, coming to rest against a utility pole, the video shows.
The video showed officers approaching the vehicle yelling at the driver to show their hands. Once officers were close enough to the vehicle, they quickly identified the driver as David Babcock. The video was edited to end before officer’s opened the vehicle driver’s door.
Babcock’s wife, Regina Babcock, and daughter Elizabeth Babcock were able to view the footage before it was released to the public. Their recount of the footage was consistent with the footage released Thursday.
SMART has been sending out press releases every Thursday in accordance with police use of deadly force laws. Weekly news releases about the incident by SMART had included scant details about the incident. Last week’s release alluded to a minimum five-month wait for a completed investigation.
Police did not announce Babcock’s death until Feb. 21, after the Whatcom County Medical Examiner completed an autopsy that determined Babcock died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a homicide.
The family, along with friends, arranged a protest at the Sedro-Woolley Police Department March 12 and are planning another April 2.
