Cellphone footage sparks outrage days after six California officers fired at Willie McCoy, who had been asleep in his car

Video footage of police killing a 20-year-old California man in his car shows a group of officers firing more than a dozen shots at him, prompting his family to say he was “executed by a firing squad”.

Blurry cellphone footage of six officers shooting Willie McCoy, an aspiring rapper who had been sleeping in his car outside a Taco Bell, also revealed that multiple police officers shouted commands at the young man after hitting him with a barrage of bullets.

“This was a cruel death by a firing squad,” David Harrison, McCoy’s cousin, told the Guardian on Thursday. “He was executed. They shot him so many times.”

The video, filmed by a witness from a distance and published on YouTube, captured audio of what sounds like between a dozen and 20 shots within several seconds. After the bullets stopped, multiple officers screamed: “Let me see your hands! Put your hands up!”

Play Video 0:45 Video shows police firing a dozen shots at a man in California – video

The Saturday night killing of McCoy, whose rapper name was Willie Bo, sparked national outrage after the Vallejo police department disclosed that six officers all fired their guns at the young man from outside his car. An employee at the fast-food restaurant had called police, saying the driver was “slumped over” inside the vehicle.

Police in Vallejo, a city 30 miles north-east of San Francisco, alleged that officers found him with a handgun on his lap at the drive through, and that the car was on and locked. They called for backup, and as they were trying to wake him, he “quickly moved his hands downward for the firearm”, the department alleged.

Six California officers fire shots at rapper who had been asleep in car, killing him Read more

Officers fired out of “fear for their own safety”, a spokesperson said earlier this week.

McCoy’s grieving relatives, who rushed to the Taco Bell after the killing, said he was probably startled awake by police and that he never would have pointed a gun at officers and did not pose any threat.

“This video says to me that no one in America, black or white or other, is safe,” said Harrison, 48, who said he helped raise McCoy. “If you fall asleep in a drive-through, you can be murdered, just like Willie Bo.”

If McCoy initially appeared to be unconscious in his vehicle, he may have been having some kind of medical emergency, Harrison noted: “Why didn’t you call a paramedic? He could have been having a heart attack. The medicine you delivered was a cruel and unusual punishment.”

The cousin said it was also disturbing to hear the officers screaming “hands up” to a man they had clearly already killed. McCoy died at the scene, according to police officials.

“There was no attempt to try to work out a peaceful solution,” Marc McCoy, Willie’s older brother, told the Guardian earlier this week.

The family said it was clear police had racially profiled McCoy, especially considering the long history of police brutality allegations and controversial killings in Vallejo.

The video, which lasts 39 seconds, starts with the person filming saying that there are seven officers and it appears a man inside the vehicle doesn’t want to get out.

The man who uploaded the video told the San Francisco Chronicle he was “completely shocked when this happened”, saying: “If the guy had a gun on his lap but woke up suddenly of course he would reach for it because he was probably shocked.” He added: “It’s brutality at its finest because even after shooting him so many times, they still gave commands.”

He could not immediately be reached for comment.

A Vallejo police spokesperson did not respond to request for comment about the video on Thursday. The department has not yet identified McCoy or disclosed the number of bullets that hit him and said an autopsy was pending. Police have not revealed the names of the officers.

Harrison said the video didn’t surprise him, because once he arrived on the scene that night, it was clear the officers had executed his cousin for no reason. But he said he hoped the footage would spark others to speak out.

“It’s very tragic and very unnerving and I hope people understand the anger we have now … People need to demand change.”