BUTLER TWP, PA - Bodycam footage from two Butler Township Police officers reveals the chaotic moments leading up to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally. The footage, released on Thursday, shows officers frantically trying to stop Thomas Crooks, who opened fire with a DPMS AR-15 rifle, injuring Trump and killing one bystander.
The dramatic video captures officers hoisting a colleague onto the roof of the AGR building, where Crooks was stationed. "F------ this close, bro. Dude, he turned around on me," one officer can be heard saying after the attempt to stop Crooks.
A body-worn police camera video just released shows a Butler Township, PA officer saying the following 10 minutes after the Trump attempted assassination:
“I fucking told them they needed to post the guys over here.”
“I told them them that…” “
Who…”
“The Secret Service, I told them that fucking Tuesday.”
“I told them to post guys over here.”
“I thought you guys were on the roof?”
“No we were inside.”
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In a desperate bid to reach Crooks, one officer hoists another onto the roof, about 12 feet above the ground. However, Crooks spots the officer, who then loses his grip and falls eight feet, spraining his ankle. Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital.
Seconds later, Crooks fired, grazing Trump’s right ear and hitting three rallygoers, including 50-year-old Corey Comparatore, who died protecting his family. The footage ends with officers surrounding Crooks’ body after he was fatally shot by countersnipers.
"I'm f------ p---ed. We couldn't find him," another officer says in the footage. Confusion among officers is evident, with one lamenting, "F------ we’re not on the same frequency?"
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe acknowledged a "failure" in security after a video showed someone moving on the roof minutes before the shooting. The FBI revealed Crooks had been at the rally site earlier in the day and returned with a drone before the attack.
Local law enforcement first spotted Crooks around 5:10 p.m., 50 minutes before Trump took the stage. Despite escalating a picture of Crooks to command, officers lost sight of him. Crooks was killed by a counter-sniper at 6:12 p.m. after he opened fire on the crowd.
The footage and other documents obtained by Fox News Digital raise questions about the security breaches that led to the shooting, with finger-pointing among local, state, and federal agencies. The investigation continues as authorities review the released bodycam footage to determine what went wrong that day.