Clovis Police Department releases body cam footage of a officer being shot by a Latino gang member

Clovis Police Department recently released some Bodycam video that shows the moments before officer Chris Caron was shot while attempting to arrest a man on a felony warrant. He had stopped the thug late at night for riding in the middle of the road on his bike. Officer Caron gets a return that the 34-yr-old had a warrant out… a pursuit began and just as the officer shoots the thug with a taser he returns fire with real bullets. The thug called him n*gga then called him ‘esay’.

In the video you hear the Officer report that he’d been shot and was hiding behind a BBQ. I became suddenly worries that this Police Officer only had a taser and NO gun. I can’t believe we would leave out Officers unable to defend themselves like that. Authorities later said Caron was shot in the left thigh and was taken to an area hospital in stable condition.

The Clovis Police Department said it chose to release the video to highlight the bravery of Caron and other officers, as well as the outpouring of support shown by the Clovis community. We should honor those who are keeping our neighborhoods safe at night putting their own lives in peril. I thank this Officer for his bravery in the field.

We want you to be aware of the graphic content of the video we have posted on our Facebook page. This is most likely the first time the Clovis Police Department has posted video of interaction between a person suspected of a crime and our Officers. I say suspected, because although there may be enough information, probable cause, to support an arrest warrant, a person is not guilty until either a judge or a jury convicts them.

There has been speculation and conjecture about the incident leading to Officer Chris Caron being shot. We want to clear up any speculation. Understand, most often video is held because an investigation is ongoing or the release of the video may interfere with the case. I have reviewed the video, and with the support of our Chief of Police and City Management, it was decided this needed to be released.

The video on our page has been stopped at five minutes and forty-eight seconds. There is more to the video after this, but these first few minutes are the clearest representation of how the event transpired on August 29, 2016. You will hear some coarse language, but this is the way some people talk normally or when they are under stress. If you watch the video and it affects you emotionally, it should. These Officers are your neighbors, your friends, and in some cases people you went to school with.

Clovis is a great community. It is great because of the people who live here. The outpouring of support for Officer Caron and the continuing support our community has for their members of law enforcement is amazing. We hope you are as proud of us as we are of our town. As the closing sentence of the Clovis Police Department Mission Statement reads, the purpose of your Police Department has always been and will always be about making Clovis “a safer community to live, work and play in.”

Thank you, and Stay Safe.

Roman J. Romero

Captain, Clovis Police Department