Former cop out of control: Body cam footage released

Published: Jun. 8, 2022 at 6:29 PM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Body cam footage has revealed former Bluefield Police Officer James Mullins acting aggressively toward both patrons of Greg’s Sports Bar. and officers who responded to a disturbance call.

The officers responded to the scene after receiving a call of a shootout outside the restaurant. Eyewitnesses report that Mullins fired first.

The footage shows Mullins storming into the bar, immediately yelling at the restaurant’s owner. Mullins said he would “shut him down” and then in the presence of police assaults the man soon after.

Patrons also took cell phone footage from inside the bar, the footage shows Mullins leveling threats at patrons even as officers attempt to restrain him.

according to the time stamp on the footage, it takes nearly 20 minutes from the time police arrived on the scene and the time Mullins is placed in a police vehicle.

Officers then searched Mullins’s vehicle. They found a pistol and what appears to be an open container of the beer “Red Wicked Apple Ale”

one officer said the weapon was “probably one of our on-duty weapons”.

The police report states the only crime reported that night was the Domestic Battery charge. Nothing else in the footage is contained in the report submitted by responding officers.

The incident did lead to Mullins Dismissal from the Bluefield Police department. Mullins has been charged with Domestic Battery against Taylor Janutolo. WVVA has confirmed with a source that Mullins was fired 5 days after the incident.

WVVA will continue to follow developments in this story. You can watch the entirety of the body cam footage by clicking here.

Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.