Heart-pounding footage released on Wednesday shows the moment a Pennsylvania cop asks accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione to pull down his face mask at a McDonald’s, revealing him as the wanted suspect.
The bodycam video captures Altoona Police officer Joseph Detwiler approaching Mangione at a corner table inside the local fast-food restaurant on December 9, 2024, and asking the 27-year-old accused murderer to reveal his full face, as reported by The New York Post.
Mangione – who was wanted in New York City at the time for allegedly gunning down a healthcare executive on a Manhattan footpath five days earlier – quickly complies.
But he then lies about his name when asked for it, claiming he is “Mark Rosario”, according to the footage, which was recorded on the bodycam of another cop, Tyler Frye, and released as part of a Manhattan proceeding in the case.
“Someone called, they thought you were suspicious,” Mr Detwiler tells Mangione, who replies: “Oh, I’m sorry, um.”
Customers in the McDonald’s at the time have said they recognised Mangione from his distinctive bushy eyebrows – prominently featured in footage released of the suspect by Manhattan authorities – before alerting police.
Mr Detwiler then tells Mangione that the caller “thought you looked like someone” as he asks the suspect for his ID during the increasingly tense encounter.
The footage shows Mangione hand over a New Jersey ID with his face on it, but under the fake name.
The officer hands the ID card to Mr Frye, who relays the information on it over the radio back to their department, the video shows.
The release of the footage came on the fifth day of a pre-trial hearing to determine if evidence collected by the Altoona police can be shown at Mangione’s murder trial in Manhattan.
Wednesday also was the one-year anniversary of Mangione’s arrest.
Mangione is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan street, sparking a five-day manhunt for him last December that stretched hundreds of kilometres.
Mangione, a former prep-school valedictorian, University of Pennsylvania graduate and member of a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including at the state and federal level.
Altoona authorities’ role in the capture of Mangione has come to the forefront over the past two weeks because officers collected troves of pivotal evidence in the case, including the alleged murder weapon, a silencer, a loaded magazine and a so-called manifesto found in his backpack.
Mangione’s legal team wants the items tossed, claiming police needed a warrant at the time of the search while the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said officers’ conduct was allowed.
Bodycam footage of the cops’ encounter with Mangione was previously viewed in Manhattan court last week before it was released to the public on Wednesday.
The footage shown in court shows police question Mangione at the McDonald’s, including over whether he had been to New York recently and why he lied about his real name.
“You’re under official police investigation,” one of the officers can be heard telling Mangione as he sits in a chair, staring at the floor.
“If you give us a false name again, you will be arrested for false identification.”
Another officer, 19-year Altoona department veteran Christy Wasser, testified earlier this week that she also reached the McDonald’s and opened Mangione’s backpack to ensure he didn’t have a bomb inside, though she later admitted to the defence that cops did not clear the restaurant.
This article was originally published by The New York Post and was reproduced with permission
