‘Drop the gun brother!’ Clovis police pleaded with suspect before fatal shooting

Clovis police pleaded with Nikolas Frazier for several tense minutes to drop his weapon before six officers fatally shot him early Sunday in a Walmart parking lot.

Frazier, 26, turned out to be armed with an Daisy BB gun, Chief Curt Fleming disclosed Tuesday as he released body camera video of the standoff. Fleming said he believed Frazier, who called 911 to report an armed man in the lot, apparently committed suicide by cop.

“What’s going on, man?” an officer asked Frazier over a loudspeaker as armed officers surrounded Frazier from a distance of about 55 yards.

“Drop the gun! Talk to us!” an officer pleaded. “Come on man! We don’t want to do this!”

Frazier can be heard responding, “No.”

Entreaties to Frazier continued for several more minutes, before it appeared to officers that Frazier was raising the imitation rifle to fire. Multiple gunshots then rang out.

Immediately after, one officer can be heard uttering a curse word.

The incident began about 1:35 a.m., as police received a 911 call placed by Frazier. Officers arrived to find Frazier in the middle of the lot, next to an SUV. Police opened fire about ten minutes later. Fleming said it was difficult for officers to see what kind of weapon Frazier was armed with, because of the darkness and the need to keep some distance from him.

“Officers did an amazing job of trying to get (Frazier) to drop the weapon,” said Fleming, adding that at one point Frazier pointed the weapon at one officer, but the officer took cover instead of firing.

“Absolutely,” said Fleming, when asked if Frazier was trying to get police to shoot him. The chief said that he met with members of Frazier’s family Tuesday morning to go over the video evidence with them. He described the department’s relations with the family as “good.”

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting. All six officers who fired their weapons are on administrating leave. It’s the first officer-involved shooting in Clovis since 2016.

Three businesses near the lot, including the Walmart, a beauty supply and a hair salon, were hit by bullets during the shooting,

This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 12:22 PM.