Rapid City officer-involved shooting justified, footage reviewed by family and press

RAPID CITY, S.D.– NewsCenter1 and members of the press were permitted to view police body-cam video on Thursday of a deadly officer-involved shooting in Rapid City from March of this year. As previously reported, the shooting was determined to be justified.

The footage was shown yesterday to the family of the man who was shot to death while burglarizing a home on James Warren Drive, with police also showing it to media for the sake of transparency.

It appears to follow what’s stated in the investigation report from the Attorney General’s office and the Division of Criminal Investigation.

The suspect, Barney Peoples. Jr. was found by police after they opened a door. Peoples was found with a scoped rifle pointed at one of five officers on-scene despite several attempts to bring the altercation to a non-violent resolution.

After Peoples was shot, officers found several weapons near him, which belonged to the homeowner.

They included a shotgun in front of the door to the room where People’s was located and the scoped rifle he pointed at the officer.

“During that time frame, while the shooting was taking place, Mr. Peoples stood up with the gun that was armed,” Assistant Chief for the Rapid City Police Department Scott Sitts explained. “And as soon as he was no longer a threat the shooting immediately stopped. And with the officers’ lives being in immediate danger and jeopardy, they had no choice. Their hand was forced to defend themselves, and they did. And as soon as that threat ceased to be a threat, the officers stopped.”

Toxicology reports confirmed amounts of alcohol and meth in his system.