The New York state Attorney General’s Office has released graphic police body-worn camera video and drone footage from the final moments of a deadly standoff between law enforcement officers and a 50-year-old Cameron man last month.
Allen V. Hoad II died in a local hospital Oct. 21 after a 12-hour siege that began at Hoad’s Angel Road residence in Cameron and ended when the fleeing suspect drove his truck at Steuben County Sheriff’s Office deputies and other law enforcement officers who responded with gunfire.
By law, the state Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation investigates all instances of law enforcement-involved fatalities.
The Attorney General’s Office did not indicate a time frame for completing the probe, but the office is expected to report its findings within months.
The video release follows Attorney General Letitia James’ directive that camera footage obtained by her office during an OSI investigation be released to the public.
Redacted drone video shows Hoad backing a truck into a parked police vehicle head on. Two officers who were apparently crouching just behind the vehicle scramble away just before it is struck.
Hoad and two dogs then jump out of the driver’s side door as several police officers close in with guns drawn. The drone video shows Hoad fall to the ground almost immediately after exiting the vehicle as the dogs scatter.
OSI also released two redacted body camera videos from SWAT officers at the scene, according to the Attorney General’s Office. In one, the footage appears to begin just seconds before Hoad drives into the police vehicle. The video includes several seconds of gunfire and then shouted commands for Hoad to show his hands.
It ends after a law enforcement officer shouts, “We’re good, we’re good, we’re good. Guns down!”
The other body cam video shows an officer advancing toward where Hoad crashed, while holding a firearm. Gunshots ring out and officers can be heard shouting, “Stop moving, stop moving” and “the dog’s hit.”
Hoad can be seen lying prone in some tall grass just off the side of the roadway. Law enforcement officers begin checking his condition and calling for medical help.
Steuben County Sheriff: Standoff outcome ‘tragic’
Steuben County Sheriff James Allard said the release of the footage came as no surprise.
“That’s their policy to release redacted video as soon as possible,” Allard said.“They will continue their investigation and as soon as we get a conclusion from them we will share it with the public.”
Allard called the outcome of the standoff tragic.
“We worked diligently to try to avoid that throughout the night and the entire day, but at the end of it we could not stop him from attacking,” Allard said.
Allard said incidents like the one in Cameron take an emotional toll on law enforcement officers. He said the officers involved “have to live with it the rest of their lives, even though they did the right thing.”
OSA said the release of the footage “is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of any party in a criminal matter or any opinion as to how or whether any individual may be charged with a crime.”
A still taken from body cam footage provided by the New York State Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation depicts weapons aimed at a truck driven by Allen V. Hoad II after it struck a law enforcement vehicle Oct. 21, 2024 in the town of Cameron.
Standoff was spurred by welfare check at Cameron residence
According to the sheriff’s office, the crisis began at about 12:40 a.m. when deputies tried to check the welfare of an individual at the Cameron residence at the request of family members.
When officers arrived, they encountered Hoad, who allegedly fired a shotgun at police and then went into the residence.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hoad made numerous terroristic threats to carry out a mass casualty incident and to leave the residence armed with firearms, saying he intended to kill people.
The Attorney General’s Office said that after several hours of negotiations, Hoad left the residence with what appeared to be a long gun and drove his vehicle through a field to a second location.
Hoad stopped his vehicle in a driveway at a residence on Lower Swale and tried to get inside an occupied home, the sheriff’s office said.
Hoad then allegedly drove his vehicle toward the officers, colliding with one of the police cars. Officers discharged their service weapons in response, striking Hoad as he exited his vehicle.
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The sheriff’s office said Hoad was given immediate medical treatment by a sheriff’s office paramedic and Steuben ALS, which had been staged to the scene.
Hoad was transferred to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Police recovered a shotgun from Hoad’s vehicle at the scene, authorities said.
The City of Corning Police Department, the Canisteo Police Department and New York State Police also responded during the incident.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Drone, body camera footage released from deadly standoff in Cameron
