Last month I wrote about the July 14 ambush of Fargo police officers by one Mohamad Barakat. Barakat murdered Officer Jake Wallin and wounded two other officers. Barakat was prepared for mass murder. Inside Barakat’s car officers found 1,800 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, explosives, gas canisters, and a homemade grenade with a fuse out of the top.
Fargo police officer Zach Robinson saved the day. From a spot some 75 feet away, he called for help and returned fire. One shot disabled Barakat’s rifle. When Barakat pulled a handgun, Robinson fired again to bring Barakat down.
On Friday North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley held a press briefing during which Officer Robinson’s bodycam was played and released. Video of the briefing is posted here on the City of Fargo YouTube channel. Wrigley played the bodycam footage at 10:00 and broke down the event based on the ensuing investigation. Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski followed Wrigley at the briefing. I found it to be worth watching.
Friday’s briefing followed up on Wrigley’s initial briefing on the incident last month. I wrote about it in the post “Be worthy.” Near the end of last month’s briefing, one of the reporters asked Wrigley what he wanted North Dakotans to know about Officer Robinson.
Wrigley urged citizens to “be worthy” — worthy of what he did, worthy of the service of law enforcement officers, “worthy of what they’re willing to do…” When the bodycam video is released, he asked, “watch it and understand that there are people who will do these things [that] we won’t and that we rely on them to do. Don’t just go to their funerals.”
Below is the bodycam video. Alpha News has posted the related story here.
Warning: Graphic
Body camera footage released from Mohamad Barakat’s July 14 ambush of Fargo police officers, which killed Officer Jake Wallin. Authorities believe Barakat was planning a mass shooting. pic.twitter.com/ugQreB8Zvb
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) August 17, 2023
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