Fifty-eight people attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival lost their lives when Stephen Paddock opened fire from his hotel suite at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in October 2017. The story in the aftermath has always been that the first police officer who entered the shooter’s room did not have his bodycam switched on, but many were skeptical.
Almost eight years later, it has been revealed that footage does exist after all. It turns out that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officer Levi Hancock didn’t have his camera on when he first entered the room, but did so a few minutes later.
helping secure the area while other officers arrived at the scene
The LVMPD has now released the 80 minutes of footage due to a court order. It shows Hancock locating the deceased suspect and helping secure the area while other officers arrived at the scene.
LVMPD officers have had body cameras since 2013, having to turn them on only when it’s practical and safe to do so. While no reason was given as to why it was initially stated that no footage existed, it is not believed that law enforcement tried to conceal the video.
After years of investigations, the FBI was eventually able to determine a motive for the deadly mass shooting. The main suggestion was that Paddock was unhappy with his treatment as a high roller by Las Vegas casinos.
