Bodycam footage shows New York State troopers shooting father of four during welfare check as family alleges cover-up

The grieving household of a father-of 4 changeable dormant by constabulary during a catastrophic payment cheque assertion helium was 'murdered' by reckless officers who past lied to them for hours – insisting helium was inactive alive.

James Dellea, 48, was killed by a slug to the caput aft New York State troopers allegedly spotted him 'brandishing' a weapon arsenic they swarmed his car astatine a religion parking batch successful Saratoga Springs, New York.

His woman and children are adamant, however, that depressed James was not a menace to the nationalist and didn't constituent the limb astatine cops during the harrowing September 11 standoff which was captured connected newly-released bodycam video.

They besides alleged successful an exclusive interrogation with DailyMail.com that New York State Police (NYSP) officers informed them successful the contiguous aftermath that James was alive, unharmed and en way to the infirmary for a psych evaluation.

For the adjacent 3 hours they comforted themselves believing the beloved patriarch was getting the assistance helium needed earlier an researcher belatedly revealed that James, a gramps of eight, was laying dormant successful the morgue.

'They plain retired lied to america and told america that helium was successful custody and was OK,' his shattered widow, Melissa Simmons, 48, told DailyMail.com.

'When they yet told maine helium was gone, I didn't cognize who to believe. I was successful pieces. It wasn't until I saw his assemblage with my ain eyes that I could judge helium was dead.

'They inflicted adjacent much affectional harm by lying to us. I honestly deliberation they were buying clip to travel up with a story.'

Melissa says she was hardly told thing astir her husband's decease and lone discovered it was an 'officer progressive shooting' erstwhile her eight-year-old granddaughter saw it connected the news.

The Office of the New York State Attorney General has launched an probe into the slaying and alleged shooter Brian Rudolph - a 23-year instrumentality enforcement seasoned - remains connected voluntary paid leave.

Rudolph had conscionable finished his displacement but got progressive due to the fact that helium was riding successful the car of an on-duty workfellow who raced to the scene, according to the NYSP.

Bodycam video made nationalist by the authorities attorney's Office of Special Investigation captures the infinitesimal troopers surrounded James with guns drawn, ordering him to get retired of his conveyance with his hands up.

As 4 oregon much uniformed officers beforehand towards him James begins to outcry retired and bang violently connected the driver's broadside window.

A trooper approaching from the rider broadside warns: 'Is determination a firearm successful there?' There's a weapon close connected this rider side, idiosyncratic interruption that model open.' 

In a chaotic series of events lasting specified seconds, the driver's model archetypal shatters earlier the butt of the shotgun comes crashing done the beforehand rider window. 

As the butt pokes done the unfastened model Rudolph, lasting conscionable a fewer yards away, advances and fires 3 times into the beforehand rider window, sidesplitting James.

The near-five-minute clip compiled from 2 antithetic bodycam devices ends with calls of 'shots fired' and an serviceman retrieving the firearm.

After viewing the tape, Melissa and her children Samantha, 30, James, 27, Taylor, 26, and Rachel, 25, are convinced the shooting was unlawful.

'If helium had gotten retired of the car and brandished the limb and made the bull fearfulness for his beingness this would person been truthful overmuch easier to accept,' Melissa reflected.

'But this antheral walked up to James astir similar helium was hunting him oregon trying to play the hero.

'The weapon was ne'er pointed astatine anyone. Nobody other was successful danger. They could person near him unsocial and fto him calm down.'

She called for Rudolph to beryllium arrested and enactment connected proceedings for execution - adding: 'I bash consciousness that my husband's decease would person been publicized a batch much and handled otherwise if this was a Black Lives Matter situation.

'We person mislaid specified a large portion of our lives and we would hatred for idiosyncratic other to suffer what we person lost.'

Samantha said her dad, a mechanic and banal car racer, was big-hearted, generous and a pillar of the assemblage successful his hometown of Hillsdale. 

She says authorities troopers treated him 'like a criminal' alternatively of idiosyncratic suffering a intelligence wellness situation – and wonders whether the off-duty shooter was adjacent briefed beforehand.

'They rushed astatine him, yelled astatine him, they pointed their guns astatine him,' Samantha added.

'Anybody that knows thing astir intelligence illness, knows that you don't outcry and shriek astatine idiosyncratic who is already successful a full-blown panic.'

James had battled bouts of terrible slump successful the leadup to the shooting aft his parents, brother, sister and an babe grandson had each died successful the anterior 2 years.

He near for enactment aboriginal connected September 11 but contacted Melissa implicit the people of the greeting to pass that his temper was spiraling and helium was feeling suicidal.

Melissa began searching for him but, by then, James had collected a shotgun and visited a weapon store to bargain ammunition.

Petrified for the information of her common-law hubby of 33 years, she dialed 911 to beg for help, relaying James's progressively despairing texts to the dispatcher arsenic troopers looked for him.

'He was begging maine to beryllium beardown capable to beryllium with him erstwhile helium died. He wanted maine to FaceTime him truthful helium didn't dice alone. He was a mess,' Melissa recalled.

'I told the dispatcher; delight archer the cops helium has a gun. But I besides said helium volition not harm anyone else, he's not that benignant of person.'

Troopers spotted James successful the parking batch of the Albany Saratoga Speedway successful Malta, New York, aft Melissa predicted that helium would gravitate toward 1 of his favourite places.

According to police, helium refused to get retired of his conveyance and drove three-and-a-half miles up Route 9 astatine debased velocity earlier pulling into a religion parking batch successful Saratoga Springs, wherever pursuing officers surrounded his car.

The 3:55pm brushwood ended without bloodshed erstwhile James was arrested and taken to an country infirmary – oregon truthful Melissa claims she was initially told.

She had been waiting for 3 hours to springiness a connection astatine the constabulary section erstwhile a hysterical Taylor rang to accidental that a household person believed her dada was dead.

Melissa confronted an researcher who confirmed her fears and blamed the hold connected having to place James's assemblage – an mentation the household aren't buying.

'They knew wherever his wallet was, wherever his licence was, they had each spot of accusation they needed. They called retired his sanction successful the bodycam video,' Melissa said.

It was different period until the household were permitted to presumption the footage that was made nationalist precocious Wednesday.

They stay 'paralyzed' by the deficiency of answers.

'They kept saying they couldn't archer america thing due to the fact that everything was nether probe yet his sanction and everything was released to the nationalist earlier we adjacent had immoderate information,' protested Taylor.

'It was a wellness check. We contacted them to find my begetter and get him the assistance helium needed. Instead of doing that, they took my begetter from me.

'The changeable to the backmost of the caput killed him but this serviceman proceeded to sprout him 2 much times. He murdered my father.'

The household person retained lawyer William Beslow who told DailyMail.com they are considering a civilian suit against the NYSP for inflicting affectional distress.

The section said successful a connection that troopers were trying to interrogation James erstwhile helium 'failed to travel lawful commands to exit his conveyance and fled the scene'.

After a 'low velocity conveyance pursuit' helium 'again refused to exit his conveyance contempt galore commands to bash so.'

The connection concluded: 'Dellea brandished a firearm, astatine which clip 1 of the Troopers fired his weapon, fatally striking him.'

Beslow told DailyMail.com: 'They misled [Melissa]. They told her point-blank her hubby was alive. To telephone that mendacious anticipation is an understatement.

'What could beryllium much disfigured than telling idiosyncratic their hubby was live erstwhile helium was dead'.