Tallahassee police release bodycam footage of an officer being shot from a home invasion incident
By: Six months after a home invasion occurred and left a Tallahassee Police Department officer shot, TPD has released body cam footage showing what unfolded. The video also showed an interview conducted with the officer who was shot.
WCTV reported in September the injured officer, who TPD identified as officer Caleb Babb Monday, was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries and taken into surgery after responding to an overnight home burglary invasion on the 2300 block of Sandpiper Street.
The Monday released video starts with a dispatch call of a resident reporting someone attempted to come in her house.
The 3-minute and 15-second video then cuts to officer Babb introducing himself, stating when he was shot in line of duty while responding to the home invasion. “My memory’s kind of fuzzy about what I did, so I know I was at work. And then, the call came about and I kind of went into work mode because it was my call,” officer Babb said in the video.
As Babb responded to the scene, he said in the video, he told other responding officers to turn their sirens off so no one would know that officers were arriving.
Babb said while on scene, he heard a noise from inside of the home he was responding to. He said that caused him to turn around to address the house due to knowing someone was still inside.
“That’s when the shooter came out,” Babb said.
Following that statement, the video cuts back to Babb’s body cam footage while on scene where you hear him yelling “Dispatch, I’m hit! Dispatch, I’m hit!” while running to the side of the home.
Babb said during the interview he heard the bang and saw the muzzle flash the shooter had as he (the shooter) ran towards him.
Babb’s wounded leg is then shown in the video, drenched in blood.
“I look down, and I have bright red arterial blood on my boot,” Babb said during his interview. “You can’t help others if you’re down for the count, so I know I had to kind of fix whatever this was, and then I could go back to work.”
During the video, an assisting officer is heard praying over officer Babb as she assisted him with his injury.
The video cut back to Babb’s interview, where he thanks the other officers for assisting him after he was injured.
“They went above and beyond to keep me alive, to get me to the people that could get me to be better,” Babb said in the video.
About 2 minutes and 45 seconds into the video, several people are seen, including officers, cheering him on and holding up signs that read “We are here for you,” “Rally for Recovery” and “TPD Strong” as he exits what appears to be a rehabilitation center.
Following the shooting, officer Babb received the Purple Heart award, an award the city said is the highest honor given to a TPD member who “is significantly injured or killed in the line of duty.” Babb is the fourth recipient of the award and the first to receive it while still living, according to the city.
John’Darious Wright, who is accused of shooting officer Babb, and Rahyim Sanders both face an attempted murder charge in connection to the incident.
Wright is facing a second attempted murder charge in connection to a separate home invasion that occurred the same day. Tyrell Guinnie is charged as an accessory for both home invasions due to him being accused of being the getaway driver.
All three suspects have case managements set for Monday, April 1.