On Wednesday, we got some new police bodycam video of Sonics’ Legend Shawn Kemp’s arrest and trip to the Pierce County Jail after he admitted to police he fired a gun in the Tacoma Mall parking lot last March. Kemp’s trial is coming up in October, but we have a little more insight into Kemp’s frustration that day.
Shawn Kemp, 53 years old, is accused of firing three rounds from a .357 magnum at a parked SUV on March 8 after Kemp said he tracked his stolen cellphone to people in the SUV. One of the bullets hit another parked car, but no one was hit.
Kemp told police he fired in self-defense, but Pierce County prosecutors charged Kemp with first-degree assault, with a firearms enhancement.
In the newly released video, you can hear Kemp explain his frustration about his stolen phone. He says he didn’t call the police because he didn’t think they’d show up in time to recover it and he was tired of being ripped off.
Police say Kemp was at a concert in Seattle when his car was broken into, and his cell phone was stolen. Kemp tracked the phone to the mall the next day. The SUV Kemp fired into turned out also to be stolen. It was recovered, but the suspects were gone and the cell phone was never found.
Kemp is out of jail on bail and a judge allowed him to travel for business, as long as he’s back in court in October.
©2023 Cox Media Group
