Newly released police dashcam footage paints a clearer picture of the moments that led to the shocking murders of two sheriff’s deputies in Peach County, Ga.
Last week, Ralph Stanley Elrod, Jr. pleaded guilty to killing deputies Daryl Smallwoodd and Patrick Sondron in 2016 after the officers arrived at his home to arrest him for threatening two Black motorcyclists with a shotgun, The Macon Telegraph reported. Elrod, an electrician at the time, faced the death penalty but was ultimately handed two life sentences with no parole.
Video of the slayings, obtained through an open records request, shows never-before-seen footage of what occurred that day. The drama unfolded Nov. 6, 2016, as Kelvin Ross and a friend, who are both Black, whizzed down the road on their motorcycles near Elrod’s home. Ross was using the camera on his phone to film live-action video of their ride.
The young men were stopped in their tracks, however, by the drunken man lurking at the end of his driveway with a shotgun.
Elrod, whose own son describes him as “bitter,” was clearly angry about the motorbikers buzzing past his home, which shares space with an empty lot where the young men were likely headed. According to the newspaper, the 57–year–old had made several complaints to police and other officials about alleged issues he’s had with his neighbors.
As the young men halted in front of Elrod’s home, Ross turned the camera away but kept the audio rolling.
“You can’t run this (expletive, expletive) up and down … (in front of) my house,” Elrod is heard shouting. “I’m gonna kill your (expletive) ass!”
“All right,” Ross responds. “My fault, man.”
“You understand me?” Elrod quips. “I’m getting tired of your (expletive, expletive),” Elrod said.
“Yes, sir,” Ross says before Elrod orders them to “go on.”
It wasn’t long before the young men called the police. Deputies Sondron and Smallwood arrived shortly thereafter, speaking with Ross and his friend first, who showed them photos and video of their harrowing encounter with the gun-wielding man.
Dashcam video showed the deputies pull into Elrod’s driveway minutes later.
“Hey, howdy,” Sondron says, stepping up to greet Elrod after pulling in and parking behind Smallwood. “Tell me what’s going on with your neighbor.”
Elrod, much calmer than he was minutes earlier, expressed frustration with the bikers, telling police, “I’ve had multiple complaints with these people over here … running these damn quads (four-wheelers) and dirt bikes up and down the road. … They’ll get out there and pop wheelies back and forth. Ain’t nobody doing nothing about it.”
When Sondron asked why he took his gun to confront the bikers, Elrod lied and said that he hadn’t.
“They had a video going. OK?,” Sondron says, bursting his bubble. “And they got everything that you said to them, and a picture of you with a gun in your hand.”
Elrod continued piling on the lies, claiming he’d been out hunting squirrels earlier that day and had his “squirrel gun in my hand.”
The two continued talking, the officer later scolding the man for taking matters into his own hands and threatening to kill the young men.
“You took what you felt was your authority out in the road, and you told that man … that you’re gonna kill him. … They had a video going, and that’s terrible for you,” Sondron said before asking Elrod to hand over his gun.
The man refuses and things quickly escalate from there. Little did officers know, Elrod had his other pistol tucked away in his waistband.
In footage reviewed by The Telegraph and not released publicly, Sondron is seen grabbing for Elrod’s left wrist in an attempt to handcuff him. Elrod twists away from the officer, however, snatching the concealed Glock from his waistband and firing at the officer with his free hand. Sondron collapses in the driveway, fatally wounded.
Elrod then turns the gun on Smallwood, who fired back but missed. The deputy was also killed in the gunfire.
According to The Telegraph report, “footage from Smallwood’s dashcam shows Elrod dart from his garage and duck in front of Smallwood’s black-and-white squad car. Elrod laid his shotgun on the hood and peeked over the car’s roof, scanning the road in front of his house where police had converged.”
Elrod exchanged gunfire with officers for several minutes before he was shot twice, ultimately surrendering.
“Enough! I’m down!” he shouts. “I’m down! I’m down!”
Watch more in the video below.