There were less than 10 seconds between when San Luis Obispo police arrived on scene and when an officer fatally shot a man, as shown in newly released footage from the Feb. 28 incident. Officials identified the man as 69-year-old Willie Felton Foster Jr.
READ MORE: San Luis Obispo Police shot and killed man holding replica firearm
The dashboard camera footage shows the encounter between officers and Foster, who the city said was homeless, as police arrived on scene.
Upon police arriving, the video shows Foster dropping to one knee and pointing an object at officers as they drove up. The city later determined the object was a replica firearm.
“No, hey, stop!” the officer said to Foster in the footage. “Stop! Stop!”
Roughly four seconds after the vehicle stopped moving forward, the officer fired a single shot from his rifle. The shot struck Foster, who fell to the ground.
After the officer fired the shot, another officer can be heard saying, “Was that you?” to which the original officer responds, “Yeah that’s me.”
The officer conducted CPR on Foster until emergency medical services arrived on scene. Foster was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:06 p.m.
Officers responded to five 911 calls reporting Foster’s behavior before the police arrived on Feb. 28. One minute before the officer shot Foster, a 911 caller said she recognized the man, was able to look at the firearm closely and told them the gun he was holding was a toy.
“He is having a serious TPS episode, he has a toy gun with him,” the caller said. “It is not real, but I am worried somebody is going to really freak out.”
It is unclear exactly what TPS refers to in this context.
When the dispatcher asked how the caller knew the gun was fake, the caller responded: “I can see it. I got up close.”
Before that, dispatchers received a call at 4:44 p.m. describing a man who threatened to shoot them and their dogs, according to the City of San Luis Obispo. A quote from the call shows this first caller said: “I was too far away to see what it was but he was holding it like a gun.”
Another caller shortly after said Foster was “speaking loudly and possibly carrying a handgun.” Before they added: “It looks like a real gun I can’t be sure but it looks like it.”
A third reported from two blocks away that he heard an altercation in which one of two men shouting said “‘I’m gonna light you up.’”
The police department placed the officer who shot and killed Foster on administrative leave, per their policy. The shooting remains under investigation by the police department.