[There was a video here]

In footage being used as evidence in an excessive force lawsuit against the St. Louis Police Department, an officer can be seen warning a group of at least seven cops arresting a suspect that a car's dashcam was on and recording them before the footage cuts out for more than two minutes.

Cortez Bufford, 18, was arrested by St. Louis police last April. According to the St. Louis Dispatch, officers were responding to a 911 call of shots fired when they pulled over Bufford after he allegedly made an illegal U-turn. Officers Nathaniel Burkemper and Michael Binz state in their police reports that they smelled marijuana on Bufford and his passenger. After arresting the passenger, the officers told Bufford he was under arrest and to exit the car:

Bufford "became agitated," Burkemper wrote, refusing to give his name and reaching for a pants pocket before the officer warned him to keep his hands in view. Bufford refused orders to get out. Burkemper called for backup when Bufford became "increasingly hostile."

The report says Binz told Burkemper he had found two bullets in the passenger's pocket. Burkemper then ordered Bufford out again, saying he was under arrest. Bufford unlocked his door, but refused to exit.

The video shows Burkemper reaching in and opening the door as backup arrives, at 10:14.11 p.m. The report says that after Burkemper maneuvered Bufford to the ground, the suspect struggled repeatedly and reached for his pocket.

In his report, officer Burkemper writes he saw a gun on Bufford before more officers arrived at the scene. At one point in the eight-minute clip, seven officers can be seen. During the struggle to subdue Bufford, officers deliver what they later call "foot strikes" in their respective reports to prevent Bufford from reaching his weapon; they eventually fire a Taser at Bufford.

Police confiscated a"Kel-Tec 9mm semi-automatic pistol with four rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber" from Bufford at the scene, the Dispatch reports. After putting Bufford in handcuffs, another officer arrives at the scene and can be heard in the video warning cops of the recording dashboard camera:

At 10:16.06 p.m., Officer Kelli Swinton approaches Burkemper's patrol car. There is the sound of an opening car door, and she loudly declares: "Hold up. Hold up, y'all. Hold up. Hold up, everybody, hold up. We're red right now, so if you guys are worried about cameras, just wait."

The audio cuts out, and the video ends eight seconds later.

In response to an open records request, City Counselor Winston Calvert released the same video on Friday, plus views from other dash cams.

One shows that after Burkemper's camera stopped, officers continued to huddle around Bufford. That camera shuts off, too, leaving a gap of more than two minutes before Bufford is seen on it again, stumbling and falling once as he's taken to a police vehicle. Other videos show unrelated scenes and both Bufford and his passenger sitting inside vehicles.

Bufford was charged by police with a felony unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Police found less than four grams of marijuana on him.

The dashcam footage was later used to get those charges dropped in August 2014. Susan Ryan, the spokeswoman for the St. Louis circuit attorney, told the Dispatch that "the action of turning off the dash cam video diminished the evidentiary merits of the case."

The footage is now being used by Bufford's lawyers in an excessive force case; a lawyer for the St. Louis Police Officers' Association told the Dispatch that the video "reflects a proper escalation of force applied against a resisting suspect who was lucky he didn't get shot when he reached for a gun."

The officer who turned off the dashcam was reportedly "recommended" for disciplinary action; that officer plans to appeal the recommendation.

[H/T Raw Story]