Bodycam Footage Of RHOC Alum Lydia McLaughlin's Brother Being Fatally Shot By Police Released - And The Family Is Now Planning To SUE!

[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]

The shocking bodycam footage of the moment The Real Housewives of Orange County alum Lydia McLaughlin’s brother was fatally shot by a police officer was released.

As we previously reported, 45-year-old Geoffrey Shyam Stirling was shot and killed by police in Newport Beach on April 17 during a traffic stop. The Newport Beach Police Department claimed in a statement on social media that the officer pulled him over for “a traffic violation” at approximately 9:15 p.m. According to the authorities, he “became uncooperative and assaulted the officer,” managing “to remove the department-issued taser from the officer’s duty belt” before trying “to deploy it multiple times against the officer.” That is when the cop shot him. Afterward, additional officers arrived at the scene and provided “medical aid” to Geoffrey “until personnel from the Newport Beach Fire Department arrived.” He was taken to a local hospital, but he did not make it.

On Wednesday, the Newport Beach Police Department released bodycam footage of what went down that night — but, warning, the video is hard to watch. The clip begins with the officer pulling over Geoffrey’s motorcycle for allegedly running a red light. When the cop gets out of the car, Lydia’s brother immediately claims he hadn’t been “drinking” and is “fully sober” before adding:

“I’m just trying to stay safe. People have almost been hitting me all day, sir.”

The officer then tells Geoffrey to sit on the sidewalk, but he refuses. He is heard saying:

“I don’t care what you’re telling me to do.”

He attempted to get back on the bike and continued to refuse to sit on the curb, prompting the officer to say over the radio that he was being “uncooperative.” At one point, Geoffrey accuses the police of “harassing” him before pleading:

“Don’t shoot me.”

The officer said he was “not going to shoot” him and told him not to reach his ID. However, the situation continued to escalate from there. The cop pointed out that Geoffrey peed his pants. And when he approached the officer, that is when an altercation broke out between them. As the two fought, the body camera fell off the officer onto the ground. The rest of the fight is captured on the police car camera. From that angle, the officer is eventually seen backing up, pulling out his gun, and screaming:

“Drop it!”

He then shoots Geoffrey several times until he falls to the ground. Awful. In the video, the Newport Beach Police Department once again claimed that Geoffrey removed the taser from the officer’s belt, held it to his head, and pointed it at him – which is when the officer decided to fire shots. You can watch the footage (below):

Following the release of the footage, the Stirling family shared a statement to ABC7 Los Angeles, announcing their plans to file a lawsuit against the police department. They said Geoffrey was experiencing a “mental health crisis” and posed “no deadly threat,” even “moving away” from the officer before the fatal shooting:

“Of grave and specific concern is that the videos appear to show [Stirling] moving away from the officer at the time he was shot six times. The family through their Attorneys plan to file a lawsuit in Federal Court to obtain full answers and seek accountability. Geoff was experiencing a mental health crisis when he was stopped for a traffic infraction. Geoff was unarmed and posed no deadly threat to the officer.”

The statement continued:

“The Stirling family expects that all video and audio footage along with every report and shred of evidence related to this deeply disturbing shooting be preserved for presentation in due course as part of the lawsuit the family will be pursuing. The cause of death was blood loss.”

The family went on to slam the officers, claiming they provided no help to Geoffrey immediately at the scene. They also said the officer who shot Geoffrey could’ve used other methods to stop him — instead of shooting:

“Despite the presence of multiple officers reporting to the scene, no aid was initially offered. The family remains heartbroken and devastated that Geoff was taken from them in what appears to be an unjustified use of lethal force. Equally tragic is that there may have been other options and tactics available to the officer that he failed to utilize based on his training.”

At this time, the California Department of Justice is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting. Lydia revealed on Instagram days before the bodycam footage dropped that Geoffrey was laid to rest this week. She wrote in an emotional tribute:

“Yesterday, we laid my brother to rest. Just six months ago, we stood in this same place, grieving the loss of my mom. My heart is broken, and the shock still hasn’t settled. But even in the sorrow, I cling to what I know is true: God is good. He is in control. I am not. My brother is now with my mom, and I hold onto the promise that one day, we’ll all be reunited. Until then, I will miss them every single day.”