51ºÚÁÏ

ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Jeffery Thompson Sr. stepped out of the home with a large butcher knife in his hand.

“Get the (expletive) out of my house,� the 65-year-old yelled as a Hazelwood police officer talked to a man nearby, who said he’d been pistol whipped earlier.

Within six seconds, the officer shot twice at Thompson, who at almost the same time dropped the knife.

The May shooting was caught on the officer’s body camera.

51ºÚÁÏ County police on Thursday released a portion of that footage in a critical-incident briefing video. The investigation has not concluded, but it’s the department’s policy to release relevant footage within 45 days to help the public better understand officer-involved incidents.

Thompson survived the shooting and was charged with unlawfully using a weapon.

The brief encounter happened at about 11:30 a.m. on May 26 in the 1300 block of Eagles Way Court in Hazelwood, 51ºÚÁÏ County police said.

Condensed radio traffic also released Thursday directs the officer, who has not been identified by police, to respond to a domestic call. The dispatcher says a gun might be involved.

The body camera video starts as the officer walks up to the right side of a light grey duplex on a residential street. Indistinct yelling can be heard coming from the house’s front door, which is on the side of the home.

The officer, walking up to the house, talks into his radio: “If you’re on your way, step it up,� he tells dispatch.

“Hey, what’s going on?� he then asks the people at the home.

A man walking out of the home with a backpack and a duffel bag tells the officer he was hit in the ear with a gun.

A woman just outside the front door tells someone inside the residence that the police are there.

The man, later identified by police as Thompson, steps out of the house as the officer talks to the other man about how he was hit with a gun.

Thompson is holding a large butcher knife, pointed down toward the ground. He starts yelling.

The officer puts his left hand up toward Thompson. “Hey, hey, hey,� the officer says, and draws his gun.

But at that point, the knife is partially hidden by a corner of the house and it appears the officer thought Thompson was carrying a gun:

“Drop the (expletive) gun right now,� the officer says. He fires two shots before he finishes the last word of the sentence.

In a slow-motion version of those few seconds, Thompson can be seen dropping the knife to the ground just before he’s shot in the shoulder.

The officer calls for EMS as Thompson writhes on the ground, saying multiple times he doesn’t have a gun.

The Hazelwood police officer is 29 years old with two years of law enforcement experience, police said. He was not injured.

Investigators found a semi-automatic pistol inside the house, as well as the knife that Thompson carried outside prior to the shooting, police said.

Thompson’s criminal case is pending.