stop right there bro stop he looked
through me just staring and he had this
really Sinister smile on his face 42
basic shot fire shots fire let me see
your hand don't move you're going to get
shot again does your department have a
policy on dead reports yes
sir are you familiar with the policy I'm
not 100% don't that
gun on June 25th 2024 an Otero County
Deputy responds to reports of a man
walking alongside a dark Highway in
Mescalero New Mexico what began as a
welfare check rapidly spiraled into an
intense barrage of gunfire sending shock
waves through the
community however the investigation
takes a shocking turn when they review
the officer's dash cam footage exposing
a disturbing truth they never saw
coming the following report is based on
official police records most of the
footage has never been seen before
please note that all persons charged
with a crime are Presumed Innocent
unless and until proven guilty in a
court of law it's just after 10: p.m.
when 911 dispatchers receive a troubling
call from a concerned driver on Highway
70 near the Mescalero reservation there
is a pedestrian walking in the median by
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and I
thought it was an elk and I almost hit
him and I think they're intoxicated
27-year-old deputy jakc ja Diaz Austin
responds to the call he arrives to find
a young male walking alongside the
highway who would later be identified a
17-year-old Elijah Hadley within seconds
of his arrival Deputy Diaz Austin opens
fire after witnessing Elijah pull what
appears to be a gun from his
waistband 42 Bas shots fir shots fir let
see your
head let your head
what though his body camera doesn't show
what the deputy saw his dash cam footage
would later reveal the chilling
truth let me see your
hands 42 Bas shot fire shots
fire let me see your
hand okay I have someone on your way 42
Bas shots fired at the 141 141
Mason send me
help I'm not hit subject
down 42 base 141 141 I am not hit
subject down subject down don't move I'm
sending I'm sending youit your way don't
move you're going to get shot again I'm
stepping away from my unit I have no
radio I'm going to start rending
Aid okay is it okay to stay on the line
with you stay on the line don't go to
class not good you're going to get shot
again Elijah remains on the ground lying
on his back and it's clear he's been hit
multiple times the deputy gives another
warning before firing several more
rounds don't go to that
gun 42 Bas shot SP shot SP
[Applause]
don't reach that
[Applause]
gun subject down subject
down they're on the way to
you I can't render Aid I'm 104 and I
can't render Aid he's still moving and
the guns underneath him I cannot see the
gun nor his hands do you know where he
was shot um in the face in the chest his
arm and I believe in the back of the
head like the top of his head area 7
minutes after the last round of fire
Deputy Diaz Austin remains standing near
the police car with his gun aimed at
Elijah just as backup arrives to the
scene 39's with me yes come on you buddy
I'm on you
buddy I'm I'm here all right we're going
to move forward okay yep 1 2 3 let's go
move forward push push push push push
push go go go left go left yeah go ahead
I'm going to glove up go ahead go ahead
go
ahead you're good Papa you're
good take your time I'm going I'm going
left side okay go ahead go
ahead take your time I'm coming left
with you okay I'm going to kick that
gun I got no pulse anywhere 107 right
Papa come on come here come on we good
Papa come on come on as aition officers
arrive and begin securing the scene
Deputy Diaz Austin appears to struggle
with the
aftermath hey no Pap you're good come on
come on here come on sit on my sit on my
passenger on my driver side here I need
to stand bro I need to stand I'm good
here shut
up keep going keep going keep going keep
going keep
going why you're good Pap you're good oh
as investigators begin securing the
scene paramedics arried to assess Elijah
but his injuries are fatal after
reviewing the depuy's body Cam and dash
cam footage he's brought in for
questioning as he explains what happened
in his own words alarming discrepancies
emerge but the haunting video will
ultimately reveal the devastating truth
he described his Bol language um like
his stance prior to the first shooting
yes sir um as he was walking up to me
you know I created a distance like I
said put it in reverse because he
wouldn't stop when I told him to stop um
once he did stop he looked through me um
he had just staring and he had this
really Sinister smile on his face and
just like he wasn't being like
overly emotional you know waving his
hands he wasn't doing anything like that
he was relatively still and and and calm
besides just staring at me and and then
that's when he reach for it however as
they continue to watch Elijah's next
actions on camera what he does next
leaves investigators stunned and
completely flips the investigation on
its
head stop right there bro stop
stop stop right
there you all
right what are you doing let me see your
other hand bro
let me see your other hand
dog and when he came up his elbow was
like an L formation coming up as if he
was coming out towards me with it um
what I saw Barrel is what is when the
barrel was coming across me sweeping me
essentially and that's when I initially
fired the footage clearly shows Elijah
dropped the gun away from his body just
before the first round of shots are
fired you you never seen the weapon fall
okay the last the next time I saw the
weapon was um after I initially shot and
I came around my door and he was already
on the ground the weapon was just to the
left of him I cannot see the gun nor his
hands when reviewing exactly how many
times he fired his weapon Jacob's answer
has harrowing implications as the
heartbreaking truth of what Elijah
yelled just after the first shots were
fired will soon reveal uh the third set
of fire okay same kind of same question
yes first two okay what what were you
trying to do the third no stop the
threat which was him attempting to shoot
me again grab the gun and shoot me again
I believe correct me if I'm wrong he he
was telling you you know you're going to
kill me or I'm dying or something to
that effect was he saying anything else
that you remember some something about a
gun but I don't remember the exact
verbage of it exactly what Elijah said
just after Deputy Diaz Austin fired the
first round of shots was fully captured
on his body C
42 Bas shots fire shots
fire 42 Bas shots fir shots
fir in a heartbreaking confirmation
Elijah's alleged gun was later
determined to be an airsoft pistol which
is only capable of firing small plastic
pellets does your department have a
deadly force yes
sir are you familiar with the policy I'm
not 100%
an autopsy report later revealed that
17-year-old Elijah Hadley suffered a
total of 13 gunshot wounds it's been
widely reported by different news
outlets that Deputy Jacob Diaz Austin
was placed on paid administrative leave
until he was reinstated to active duty
nearly 3 months later on September 16th
2024 but we haven't been able to verify
this Elijah would later be identified as
a member of the nearby Mescalero Apache
tribe a tribal representative attempted
to verify news of the deputies rein
statement but the district attorney
assigned to the case declined to comment
on January 13th 2025 6 months after
Elijah's tragic death Jacob was
officially charged with first-degree
murder on January 27th Jacob's legal
team filed a motion to dismiss the case
but the state of New Mexico ruled that
Jacob acted with a deliberate intention
to take Elijah's life upholding the
charges a motion to seal the conditions
of his release was approved the
following day citing concerns for the
safety of Jacob and his immediate family
the case is ongoing with a preliminary
hearing scheduled for February 26 2025