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Fatal Shooting Captured On Policeman's Bodycam

Dramatic footage has been released which shows an armed suspect being fatally shot by a policeman in Oklahoma.

In the video, recorded on Officer Chansey McMillin's body camera, Terence D. Walker is seen being patted down before running away from the scene.

Seconds later, the 21-year-old briefly turns around to face Mr McMillin - prompting the officer to fire five shots. Walker fell into a ditch after being hit three times, and was declared dead shortly afterwards.

The footage has been published by the City of Muskogee Police Department "in the spirit of openness" following widespread protests which ensued when Michael Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson last August.

Body cameras are being deployed on officers nationwide, in an attempt to increase transparency and accountability.

According to law enforcement officials, Mr McMillin was responding to allegations that Walker had threatened to murder a woman at a wedding, and had told the victim "he had a bullet with her name on it". A loaded handgun was found on his person.

A spokesman added: "The suspect failed to comply with basic commands by the officer to place his hands behind his back, and used an elbow to strike the officer.

"The officer reacted to the suspect stopping to pick up an item that we believe the body camera shows was a gun. At this point, the suspect posed an immediate threat to the officer and witnesses surrounding the scene.

"If the suspect were to have fired the gun, the bullet would have been fired in the direction of the officer, multiple bystanders, and toward the direction of oncoming traffic and a residential area."

The police department has insisted using a Taser gun was not appropriate in the circumstances, as Walker was too far away, and said "officers are trained to meet a deadly threat with deadly force".

Officer McMillin has been placed on paid leave since the shooting, and the body camera footage is being investigated.