Oakland Police Release Video of Officers Fatally Shooting a Homeless Man

Joshua Pawlik was shot by four Oakland police officers on March 11 after police responded to a call about an armed man lying unconscious between two West Oakland houses. Since the fatal shooting, little information has been made public about the incident, or the events leading up to it.



This video shows Pawlik lying unconscious between two houses. Just seconds after the police position their armored vehicle directly in front of the alleyway, Pawlik, who is laying on his right side facing the police, wakes up. He lifts his head as an officer shouts, "Don't move, get your hands up! Hands up!"



Pawlik moves his head and shoulders slightly and slowly as the police order him to get his hands "off the gun." An officer yells, "Get your hand off that gun, young man!"



Police repeatedly tell Pawlik to disarm himself as he appears to be waking up. One officer calls out orders in Spanish. One officer says, "That gun moves, bag him." In total, about 46 seconds pass between the time Pawlik wakes up and the final order is called out. At that point, Pawlik appears to rise to his elbow when multiple police officers open fire, several using AR-15 rifles. After the shooting, one officer says, "Goddammit."



Joshua Pawlik struggled with mental illness and drug addiction but didn’t have a history of violence. A friend described him as a “free-loving hippie.”