This is a walk through of what can be seen and heard from PSU Campus Police Officer David Troppe’s body camera footage from the incident involving Richard Barry on the night Barry died, Thanksgiving, November 22, 2018. Footage was obtained through public records request. The transcript below is extra detail that is summarized in the news article “Richard Barry: Chronicle of a Death as Told” which can be read at this link.
Officer Troppe pulls a patrol car up to the intersection of SW 6th Ave and SW Mill St., begins audio recording as he steps out of the vehicle and says, “Hey! Come here!” Troppe leaves the driver side door open and walks towards the front of the vehicle.
“They got guns!” Richard Barry yells as he crosses 6th Ave and walks in front of the patrol car.
“Who has a gun? Hey, you’re being video-recorded,” Troppe tells Barry.
Barry walks up to Troppe. As Barry approaches Troppe, he looks over his shoulder and begins to point in the direction he came from. “Just relax for a minute—” Troppe says as he places a hand on Barry’s left upper arm. Barry takes a step back. “—What’s going on?” Troppe asks Barry who is now standing against the front of the patrol car’s open driver door.
Barry begins to mumble and then turns his head to Troppe. His breathing is rapid and audible. “I-I didn’t do—it was an accident,” he stammers as he shifts his weight back and forth from foot to foot. Barry jerks his head and starts to yell something but stops suddenly. He uses his left hand to hold the outside of the open door and begins to walk around it.
“Hey, come here,” Troppe says as he pulls Barry back by Barry’s right arm. “Who’s following you?” Barry mumbles something briefly before he turns back towards the door. “Get away from my door,” Troppe says, and uses his hands on Barry’s right arm and left side to move Barry down from the open door. Troppe closes the door. “Put your hands up here. Do you have a gun?” Troppe stands behind Barry, now facing the vehicle.
“No, no, no!” Barry quickly responds, jerking his head towards Troppe behind him.
“It was an accident!” Barry exclaims several times while Troppe pats him down. Suddenly, without moving his feet, Barry jerks his head around towards Troppe and yells, “No! They’re coming!”
“Who’s coming?” Troppe asks.
Barry throws his arms north, towards the rear of the car, and yells, “My god! Those guys!” Barry turns south, towards the front of the patrol car.
“Who is?” Troppe says as he puts a hand around Barry’s left forearm.
Barry swings around to face Troppe. “You’re going to shoot me, aren’t you?” Barry says as he takes a few steps backwards to stand up against the patrol car, retracting his arms away from Troppe.
“Just—no, bring it down a minute—” Troppe says.
“You’re not a cop, you’re not a cop, are you?” Barry asks. He is wringing what appears to be white tissue between his hands, looking around wildly, tugging at the drawstring of his hoodie, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
“Police, I told you I’m a police. You’re being video recorded,” Troppe says.
Barry looks up and down SW 6th Ave. “I need help,” he says, panting.
“Just take it down a second,” Troppe says.
Barry points north again, looks to Troppe and says, “Those guys have guns—”
“—Just breath,” Troppe tells Barry. Barry leans back against the patrol car. He’s moving the tissue from hand to hand, tugging at the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. Troppe tries to get Barry to move to the sidewalk. “Can you walk over here?”
“No!” Barry immediately responds.
“—Let’s get out of the road,” Troppe tries to explain.
Barry begins to protest, pointing to the sidewalk before he turns to Troppe and says, “Put me in the back! Lock me up!”, and uses his thumb to point over his shoulder to the rear passenger seat of the patrol car. “Please.
“Hold on—” Troppe responds.
“—Please.” Barry cuts him off, “Please lock me up!” He says now looking at the ground.
“Hold on,” Troppe repeats.
Barry points towards the sidewalk, “He’s going to shoot me. He’s got his gun out.”
“He doesn’t even have a gun—” Troppe tries to explain, presumably referring to one of the unsworn, unarmed public safety officers also there.
“—Yes he does! I see it!” Barry yells, interrupting Troppe. “You’re with them, aren’t you? You’re with them.” Barry is breathing rapidly. “That’s him!” He exclaims, leans forward slightly and whispers “Oh, no” beneath his breath. Barry is running his fingers over the drawstrings of his sweatshirt. “[Expletive] that’s him.” He points to the sidewalk again. “That’s him.” Barry tells Troppe. Barry turns north, “Holy fuck,” he says, looking over his shoulder. He starts to walk away from Troppe. “You’re with them.”
Troppe follows Barry. “C’mere, c’mere, c’mere,” he says.
Barry stops and swivels around. “You’re with them!” he yells and takes a few steps back towards the front of the car.
“C’mere, man, c’mere,” Troppe says.
Barry now stands between Troppe and the patrol car. Barry starts to cry for help. “Help!” Barry’s yells echo in the streets.
“Hold on,” Troppe says,
Barry yells, “This guy ain’t a cop! Help! He’s not a cop!” He throws his hands in the air. “Help!”
“C’mere,” Troppe tells Barry.
“No, he’s gonna shoot me!” Barry says as he turns north and walks to the tail light of the car. Troppe tries to stop him, can be seen grabbing the cuff of Barry’s left sleeve. Barry steps backwards, moves behind the rear of the patrol car towards the other side, waving his free arm overhead. “Help!” he repeats, “He’s not a cop!”
“Stop! Stop!” Troppe tells Barry and grabs Barry by the wrist with his other hand.
Barry walks into 6th avenue with Troppe following behind. “Help! They’re fake cops!” Troppe pulls Barry towards him, but Barry lurches away, freeing his arm from Troppe’s grip. Troppe yells at Barry to stop. Barry yells over and over, “Help! They’re fake!” as he runs along the right side of the patrol car, into the intersection with both hands up in the air.
“Stop!” Troppe yells again. Barry stops in the intersection and turns around to face Troppe. Troppe approaches Barry.
“Lock me up, then!” Barry says, staying in place but turning slightly as Troppe gets near.
“Stop, put your hands behind your back,” Troppe says. The video shows Troppe grabbing Barry by the left wrist. Barry resists, yells “He’s going to shoot me!” several times. Barry looks like he is trying to break free as Troppe leads him to the sidewalk by the arm.
Barry resists and begins to yell over Troppe’s directions.
“He’s going to shoot me, god dammit he’s going to shoot—”
“Get out of the road!” Troppe tells Barry.
“No!” Barry protests.
Troppe tells one of the security officers to grab Barry’s arm and help get him out of the road. “Come here,” Troppe continues to tell Barry.
“Help! Police! Call the police! Help! Please! Police!” Barry yells out for help as a security officer grabs his right arm. He tries to pull back as they walk him to the sidewalk.
“—You’re in traffic,” Troppe tries to tell Barry.
“No! I don’t want to die from this day!” Barry protests and continues to yell.
“Come here. You’re not going to die. Stop,” Troppe says. The video is partially obstructed by Barry in front of Troppe. Troppe’s left hand is around Barry’s left wrist. “Get him up on this wall.”
Barry cries for help as he is led to the brick wall of the St. Mary’s Academy building.
At this point, about two minutes and 17 seconds into the video, two electronic chirps can be heard as Troppe and the officers struggle to keep Barry against the brick wall. Troppe tells Barry to stop. Barry resists. A man’s voice from off camera, perhaps Public Safety Officer Michael Anderson, instructs Public Safety Officer Nichola Higbee to hold Barry to the wall. Barry lets out guttural cries for help and turns away from the wall. “I can’t,” Higbee says before the video shows a glimpse of her struggling to keep hold of Barry’s right arm.
“Please don’t let them kill me!” Barry pleads several times as Public Safety Officer Murphy runs up to them from the intersection.
“Just hold his arms,” Troppe instructs.
“You’re OK, you’re OK,” Murphy says as she joins Murphy at Barry’s right arm.
“Just calm down,” Troppe tells Barry. Barry, now facing the street with his back to the brick wall appears to have two officers holding his right arm and at least one, Troppe, holding his left arm.
Barry calls out for help again and again while the officers tell him to relax—that he’s OK—to just breath. “I didn’t mean to! I did not mean to!”
“Hey man, just relax,” Troppe says.
At two minutes and 48 seconds, the video shows Troppe’s left hand gripping Barry’s left wrist. Barry sounds frantic. The video footage is shaky and briefly shows the pad of Troppe’s left thumb. The public safety officers try to calm Barry down to no avail.
A few frames show Barry’s left hand near a safety officers upper arm.
“—don’t grab—,” Troppe says before retrieving Barry’s left wrist.
“You’re fine! You’re fine” A safety officer tells Barry.
“I did not mean to!” Barry screams desperately. “Help! Help! Officer, help!”
At two minutes and 55 seconds, the camera footage wobbles and blurs with a knocking noise. Two seconds later, the footage goes dark and the audio crunches.
“You’re going to go in the car, OK?” Troppe can be heard saying.
For the next three and a half minutes, the body camera does not capture video of the encounter. The audio sounds slightly muffled, incohesive at times, but the microphone continues to record uninterrupted. Barry’s cries for help persist without any apparent interruption.
“Help! It’s coming right now!” Barry screams at the three minute mark. The safety officers tell him to breath. He cries, “Help!” over and over.
“You’re going to go in the back of the car,” Troppe says, “Hold on. Just relax. You’re OK.” The audio crunches and colorful pixels of light quickly flash across the frame. “Hey, what’s your name?” Troppe asks. Barry doesn’t answer and keeps yelling for help.
At three minutes and 35 seconds, Barry mumbles something, then says, “They’re coming,” before he frantically yells but the words are indiscernible. He begins to repeat, “I did not mean to.” Troppe tells him to relax. “I didn’t mean to, kid! Kid! I didn’t mean to!” Barry’s inhales are audible between each cry. “—I know him! I didn’t mean to! I did not mean to!”
From the four minute mark, faint sirens grow louder. There is another electronic chirp. The audio crunches. Barry hollers, “Help! Officer!” The campus officers can be heard telling Barry to calm down. “Officer, they’re fake cops!” Barry shouts. A public safety officer thanks someone. “Help me, they’re fake! They’re going to shoot me and run!” Barry shouts. A male voice is heard but the words aren’t clear. Barry lets out shrill cries for help. Over rustling sounds, Barry hollers and grunts, sounding further away from the microphone. He yells, nasally, “I did not mean to,” his voice cracking as he squeals “Help” again and again. A voice tells him to relax and to leave his arms behind his back. A blue light pulses on the left side of the dark frame. Barry’s cries echo over sounds of indistinct chatter on the dispatch radio.
At six minutes and 6 seconds, a male voice says, “We’re going to need AMR—he’s all cut up on his head.” He asks if someone’s called “61 yet.” The microphone picks up two electronic chirps nearby. Someone appears to reply, “he ordered those two.” Barry continues to groan.
At six minutes and 37 seconds, the footage regains vision of bright lights that cast a shadow on the brick wall of St. Mary’s Academy. The footage catches a few frames of a beige pant leg taking a step. Barry is prone on the sidewalk with his hands cuffed behind his back and a sweatshirt over his head. Three officers are on their knees restraining Barry. Three more officers stand a few feet away.
The footage spins around, briefly shows Troppe and Campus Safety Officer Anderson at Barry’s feet. Troppe is handed the camera. “Guys, I’ve got a video camera right here,” Troppe says as before the camera spins around to Barry. The frame swivels 90 degrees before the palm of a hand, presumably Troppe’s, moves away from the camera lens.
The videotape shows one police officer has his knee on Barry’s right upper back, with one hand on Barry’s left upper back and the other hand holding Barry’s handcuffed wrists against Barry’s lower back. Troppe’s knee is pinning Barry’s left leg to the ground. Campus Safety Officer Anderson has his right hand on the back of Barry’s thigh.
The videotape shows that Barry continues to resist, groans as he appears to try and roll out from beneath the knee on his right shoulder. “Help me!” Barry grunts.
The videotape shows a second police officer squats down by Barry’s left shoulder. “Calm down, buddy,” the officer says, “We’ve got an ambulance coming.” He touches Barry’s exposed back with an ungloved hand and then quickly retracts his hand. “I got his blood all over me. God dammit,” he says before taking hold of Barry by the sleeve of his left upper arm.
Barry writhes on the ground, moaning.
“Fuck. I just got these pants!” an officer says.
“Just keep it still, man,” Troppe says.
“You’re OK, man,” an officer says.
A few seconds later, at minute mark 8:03, Barry’s moans subside and his left little finger twitches.
For the remainder of the video, Barry is quiet and motionless, handcuffed and face down on the sidewalk.
A police officer asks PSU Officer Troppe, “What happened when you—he just right away fought with you guys when you came?”
Troppe explains, “Uh, well, he came in the road, I told him to c’mere cuz he was yelling something about a gun. So I first [said] to him to get out of the road, and then [he] said, no, he’s staying in the road so I grabbed him and pulled him out of the road—”
“—and then it was just on?” The officer cuts Troppe off. An officer begins to pat Barry’s pockets.
“And then, I—I tried to tell them I think this is a ace thing—or, we got medical coming. Um, but then, he just started struggling and hit me in the face and, um,” Troppe trails off as he touches a wrinkle on Barry’s back pocket.
“Well, I really wish I had gone and put gloves on,” one officer says.
“Yeah,” Troppe says with a laugh. The officer laughs.
“He’s on my hat,” the other officer says as paramedics roll up in a rig in the background.
The officer replies, “Yeah, he’s probably on mine, too. Hope I didn’t get blood on my hat, I’m gonna cry. I’ve had that thing since day one. Means everything to me. He’s—he’s on both of our hats.”
“Well,” the other officer says, “my hats off to him.” The officer laughs.
Paramedics greet the officers from off camera (minute-mark 9:35). An officer tells the paramedics Barry is “gonna prolly need something to calm down.”
“What’s your name bud?” someone asks to no reply. A person in beige pants and black shoes enters the frame and stands by Barry’s left leg before walking away.
“Oh, I didn’t even look at him yet,” an officer says, answering an inaudible question.
Two more people, presumably paramedics, walk up and stand a few feet away from Barry’s left side. “What are we thinking? Drugs? Most likely?” a paramedic asks. The officers confirm the suspicion. “But not, like—versus mental psychosis, it’s most likely drugs?” The paramedic says to clarify.
An officer notes that CPSO responded first, but relays that Barry was “extremely aggressive and he was fighting with us, so—”
“—He was screaming and he was sweating,” a campus security officer chimes in, “saying people were trying to kill him, saying he had a gun, saying other people had a gun.”
At this point, a paramedic walks over to Barry’s head and leans over. He lifts the hoodie that is covering Barry’s head and face and takes a step back. Another paramedic fluffs open a red, plastic bag, squats down, wipes Barry’s head with gauze. He puts the gauze in the bag and stands up.
The paramedics announce a plan to “calm him down,” involving four-point restraints and “a backboard to restrain him.” A paramedic asks something about “what kind of drugs he—” but the conversation is inaudible over the sounds of a paramedic closing the first aid kit and the campus security officer asking if she should inform Donnell (CPSO Chief Donnell Tanksley). Troppe affirms that she should.
The police officer at Barry’s head stands up to search his pockets more thoroughly. A blue bic lighter falls to the sidewalk. He pulls out what looks like white tissue paper and examines it under a flashlight held by a campus safety officer. “Looks like tobacco,” she says.
The officer notes a “bunch of cigarettes over here.”
A paramedic puts a backboard down and an officer starts to tell him what had happened, pantomiming how he held his hands on the back of Barry’s head as Barry resisted. “So he didn’t have a physical—His head didn’t slam to the ground,” the officer explains.
“I still might put him on a backboard,” the paramedic replies.
A campus safety officer asks Troppe, “Do you wanna do a handcuff transfer?”
“Leave him in handcuffs for now,” Troppe responds.
Paramedics return with Velcro restraints, strategize among themselves before relaying the plan to the officers. “So you guys here what we’re going to do? We’re going to kind of sit him, keep him restrained,” a paramedic says, pantomiming with his hands behind his back, “Restrain his legs—do as much as we can and put his arms up.” In the background, the police officer tells someone else how Barry’s head got cut on the sidewalk.
The last several seconds of video show people positioning themselves around Barry—still prone, handcuffed, silent and motionless, his head covered by his sweatshirt—before the video cuts off at 13 minutes and 7 seconds.
