City, attorney speak out about officer-involved shooting of Coco Carico || Additional bodycam footage released

File / Screengrab via YouTube

Officials with the City of Paris, along with attorney Lee Merritt, are both speaking out about the officer-involved shooting of Coco Carico, a local musician in Paris.

According to the City, the bodycam footage that was released on YouTube last week was an “edited version” and led to “misleading and inflammatory comments.”

“Our Paris police officers, who place themselves at risk every day, and our citizens, deserve a more complete picture,” the City said in a released statement.

That complete picture, they said, begins with the full, “unedited version” of the bodycam footage. eExtra News has obtained the footage and it can be found by clicking here.

Merritt sees things a little differently from the City. According to Merritt, police “shot this man in the back when he was not a threat to anyone but himself.”

The one thing the City and Merritt do agree on is that Carico was involved in a motor vehicle rollover accident on June 1, 2021, wherein he flipped his Ford F-150. After the accident, Carico walked away and went back home with his girlfriend.

According to Merritt, police “arrived at the scene to investigate and were told Coco was sleeping and would speak with officers in the morning. While officers continued their investigation, Coco asked to please be allowed to sleep. When officers refused, he emerged from the house pointing a weapon at his head and threatening to blow his own head off.”

The City said officers “arrived at Mr. Carico’s home, where Mr. Carico eventually appeared at the door. Officers repeatedly and politely requested Mr. Carico come to speak with them about the accident which he initially refused to do. When he did eventually exit the home, Mr. Carico did so with a rifle in his hands. Officers ordered him to drop the rifle multiple times, but he would not comply with those commands. As a result of Mr. Carico brandishing a rifle, the officers feared for their safety as well as for the safety of Mr. Carico’s girlfriend, who was also present and in Mr. Carico’s line of fire.”

According to the City, Carico’s “actions created a very clear and present danger that the officers were forced to address in order to prevent Mr. Carico from firing the rifle in his hands.”

Merritt described the events the following way: “When officers drew their weapons and pointed it at the distressed suspect— he lowered the weapon, turned his back to the officers and his girlfriend, and attempted to re-enter his home,” Merritt said. “Officers shot him in his back paralyzing him from the waist down. Paris police didn’t want Coco to shoot himself. They wanted to do the shooting themselves.”

The City went on to say the shooting was entirely Carico’s fault. The shooting “occurred only because Mr. Carico created a dangerous situation by introducing a high-powered rifle into an otherwise nonviolent scene. Moreover, to address misleading comments on social media, this call was not in reference to any mental health issues, and Mr. Carico’s mental health was not in question nor at issue in the call.”

Merritt believes the incident was a mental health issue and should have been addressed as such.

“The level of incompetence, brutality and downright cowardice that characterizes American policing is mystifying,” Merritt explained. “Our nation is dealing with a mental health crisis— we cannot afford to allow law enforcement to remain responsible for addressing it. It’s beyond their ability.”

After the shooting, the Texas Rangers investigated and found that Officer Derek Bristow’s actions were justified.

“Furthermore, after a presentation by the state attorney general’s office, a Lamar County grand jury also cleared the involved officer by issuing a no bill on the case in December of 2021,” the City said.

To combat the “misinformation” the City believes has been spreading, the Paris Police Department has released “the officer’s entire bodycam recording with limited editing to protect the confidential personal information of 3 rd parties, as opposed to the abbreviated version that has been posted elsewhere on social media,” the City said.

See for yourself and tell us what you think. Click here for the City’s “unedited version” of Officer Bristow’s bodycam footage.

eExtra News reached out to Carico’s mother and Officer Bristow and received no response. Furthermore, we asked City Attorney Stephanie Harris the following questions and received no response:

Click here for the backstory and to watch the originally released footage.