Rochester police release bodycam footage of a fatal shooting of an armed man on Christmas Eve

Rochester Police released new information Wednesday, including body camera footage, of the deadly Christmas Eve shooting by an RPD officer.

The incident happened on Sunday, December 24, at around 8:30 a.m. on the 400 block of Murray Street. Police were called to the scene for reports of a man with a gun. They played the 911 call at a news conference Wednesday before releasing the body worn camera footage.

The video contains the initial interaction with police leading up to the shooting.

Police located two men walking, when one of them began to run. The video shows the officer shouting to the suspect to drop the gun before firing several shots. The suspect, identified Wednesday as 46-year-old Rochester resident Todd Novick, was pronounced dead at Strong Memorial Hospital.

Police said Wednesday the gun turned out to be a replica gun. Chief Smith would not speculate on why Novick was carrying the replica, nor why he took it out when he ran.

Chief David Smith said initial reviews of the body worn camera footage would seem to indicate the officer was in compliance with departmental policy and state law, but the investigation is still in its early stages.