Athens-Clarke police release bodycam video from Walker Park shooting

3 years ago
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Athens-Clarke police on Friday released a video of the May 23 shooting death of a man at a city park that contains the emotional pleas for help from those who appeared stunned to see a gunman in the park.

“Please hurry up,” one woman said emotionally as she talked to the 911 operator.

The video, a compilation of events on May 22 and May 23, showed the man pointing his rifle at children and adults as he wandered through the park and finally stole a car at gunpoint.

The shooting occurred about 10:40 a.m. at Virginia Callaway-Cofer Walker Park on Trail Creek Street. Police shot and killed Juan Joseph Castellano, 38, of Athens, inside the stolen Honda Pilot.

Four officers involved in the shooting, Lt. Greg Slaney, Officer Joseph Impeduglia, Officer Hunter Lance and Officer Joshua Echols, were all placed on administrative leave and remained so on Friday, according to police.

The video shows the shooting of Castellano, but police did not describe in the video who was firing the shots.

“We’re not providing any interpretation or description of the video. We believe there are sufficient details to provide to the public with as much information as possible without compromising the ongoing investigations,” police spokesman Geof Gilland said.

The shooting is under investigation internally by the police department and with an independent assessment by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The video provided by police includes the 911 call made the previous day by a 21-year-old Athens woman, who was driving in the park, when a man began firing a rifle at her car. There are three bullet holes in the side of the Ford Fusion and damage to the hood and windshield. The woman escaped harm.

Another 911 call comes in shortly from a man on the 500 block of Vine Street, who also reports a man with a gun.

“There’s a guy on Vine Street walking around with a gun talking trash. I’m just calling because he’s walking around like he’s gonna shoot (unclear) folks,” he told the 911 operator.

Police responded and searched the area for more than an hour, using both drones and tracking dogs, but the gunman had disappeared.

Then on Sunday, May 23, a flurry of 911 calls came from people alarmed to see the gunman. One woman pleaded with police to hurry because he was in the splash pad area around children and pregnant women.

One scene shows people running from the area, while another caller reports that he see the gunman stealing a black-colored vehicle at gunpoint and was now leaving in the vehicle.

The video shows that police were already on Trail Creek Street by this time and managed to get the man to stop the vehicle. Police are heard telling the man numerous times to drop his gun. Gunshots are then heard.

The department’s armored vehicle drives up to the vehicle, where it is determined Castellano is dead.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to Castellano was active May 22 and had 16 posts prior to the shooting of the Ford Fusion inside the park.

One post from early that morning that read “That a beautiful birthday party at Trail Creek today Emmanuel. I’m looking for you my friend. Next time I’ll bring the fireworks.”

Another post read: “Let one more of you (expletive) roll by me and I’m going to Swiss cheese that car.”

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