Bodycam Footage Released in Luigi Mangione Evidence Suppression Case
Prosecutors Release Footage From McDonald's Encounter
Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday released partial body camera footage of a police encounter with Luigi Mangione at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, one year after two police officers entered the restaurant and approached him. The release of the video comes as state court hearings are under way in Manhattan over whether certain evidence gathered during Mangione’s arrest should be disqualified.
Details of the McDonald's Interaction
The body camera video, recorded by a local police officer, shows two officers approaching Mangione as he sits at a table wearing a medical mask, a rust-orange beanie, and a black coat. The officers ask him to lower his mask and request his identification. Mangione complies by pulling down his mask and producing an identification card from his wallet.
When asked for his name, Mangione tells the officers his name is “Mark” and “Mark Rosario.” One officer informs him that a person had called police because she believed he was “suspicious” and thought he resembled “someone.” The latter part of the approximately two-minute video shows a second officer calling in the identification number from the card Mangione provided.
Charges and Legal Proceedings in New York
Authorities have charged Luigi Mangione with killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, in New York City. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The body camera footage is among the evidence being reviewed in suppression hearings that began on 1 December at the New York Supreme Criminal Court in Manhattan.
Several witnesses have testified in these hearings. On 9 December, Mangione appeared in court for a suppression of evidence hearing. The proceedings are before Justice Gregory Carro, who will determine whether some of the evidence in the case is admissible at a future trial.
Focus on Miranda Rights and Search of Belongings
During Tuesday’s hearing, Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, questioned Patrolman Stephen Fox, one of several officers who responded to the call about Mangione at the Pennsylvania McDonald's on 9 December 2024. Her questioning centered on whether Fox properly read Mangione his Miranda rights, which inform suspects in custody of their right to an attorney and their right against self-incrimination.
Fox testified that he participated in searching Mangione’s backpack at the McDonald's. He also stated that he stood “right beside” Mangione during his arraignment. According to his testimony, at the arraignment Mangione looked back at assembled reporters and said, “All these people are here for a mass murderer, wild.” Fox further testified that as they left the arraignment, Mangione tripped, and Fox commented, “I forgot you were shacked.” Fox said Mangione replied, “It’s OK, I’m going to have to get used to it.”
Evidence Presented in Court
During the hearings in Manhattan, the parties have played numerous videos and presented physical evidence, including a notebook belonging to Mangione and some of his writings. The outcome of these suppression hearings will determine which of these materials prosecutors are permitted to present to a jury in any eventual trial.