911 Tapes Released in West Memphis Shootout

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The 911 tapes of the West Memphis shooting that left two police officers dead were released Friday morning. The 28 emergency calls from May 20th, the day West Memphis officers Bill Evans and Brandon Paudert died, span about 2 hours: from the witnesses along the I-40 traffic stop that started it all, to those at the Wal-Mart where the suspects were shot and killed in the parking lot.

WARNING | SOME GRAPHIC, DISTURBING LANGUAGE IN AUDIO RECORDING

Operator: "9-11 what is your emergency?"
Caller: "Exit 275 at 1-40, these guys just shot a police officer."

The first caller in nearly 3 dozen 911 tapes from the day two West Memphis police officers were shot with an AK-47, said he was at the exit when it happened.

Caller: "Please hurry, he's standing right in front of me."

Identified as FedEx Truck driver Vincent Brown, the caller said the suspects' white caravan was within 100 feet of him as he described everything he saw to the 911 operator.

Caller: "Oh my God. Oh ****. Oh my God."
Operator: "What do you see, sir?"
Caller: "His brain. He's dead. His brains on..."
Operator: "...[the] officer?"
Caller: "Yes!"

Caller: "It's a Tahoe, and a West Memphis police officer."
Caller: "Two cops are dead. They're all up in the ditch."
Caller: "They're both dead ma'am."
Caller: "They killed both cops. Shot one, he fell in the ditch. The other ran behind the truck and they shot him in the head."

Brown gave another description of the suspects' vehicle, which he said had Ohio tags and headed eastbound off the exit. Then the 911 call volume then picked up with white van sightings.

Caller: "I live at 1850 North Avalon. Just had a white Dodge Caravan that was parked in my parking lot."

Soon after, the first calls came in from a West Memphis Wal-Mart where Jerry Kane and his 16-year old son Joe Kane ended up in a deadly shootout with police, and were killed about an hour and a half later.

Caller: "We're at the Wal-Mart in West Memphis and somebody's shooting!"

Caller: "They're here at the Wal-Mart branch!"
Operator: "Yes ma'am. We know."

Prosecuting attorney Mike Walden, who released the tapes, said the recordings were important because they supported what was determined; that Evans and Paudert were victims, and the shooting of Kane and his son were justified.

He added he'd hoped to have the tapes available when dash-cam video became public earlier this month, but they weren't ready.

**Editor's note: Many of the unedited 911 recordings were not posted due to poor audio quality or personal information shared on the call.