SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dramatic new body camera video from Scottsdale Police showed the looting in Old Town and inside Fashion Square Mall the night of May 30 into the early morning hours of May 31.
“When did you guys get wind of this? Did you guys not know this was going to happen?" one officer asked.
Body camera footage shows a police officer from another agency asking Scottsdale Police officers if the looting at Fashion Square caught them by surprise.
“We knew by Twitter and all sorts of crap," replied the Scottsdale police officer. "As far as the validity of it, it was kind of like wish wash.”
Nearly 200 body camera clips were released to 12 News showing police watch looters swarm the mall and smash windows at the Apple store.
Scottsdale police and other agencies showed up and hours later, they deployed tear gas in an effort to get a handle on the situation.
Body camera footage showed armed volunteers identifying themselves as militia showing up offering to help police. Officers asked them to stay back.
After the damage was done to the area of Old Town Scottsdale, video shows police clearing the area. They walked through a desolate and destroyed Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Mercedes Benz dealership and more.
A police timeline released by Scottsdale PD on July 1 reveals looters started showing up to the area around 9:30 p.m. Police did not make their first arrest until after 1 a.m.
Body camera footage showed police arresting one suspect they said was armed.
The violence caught people passing by off guard. At one point, body camera footage showed celebrity chef Guy Fieri a few blocks from the chaos fist bumping officers who appeared to recognize him as he walked by.
Others in the area were critical of the police department's response and asked officers why they didn't step in sooner.
“Can you please protect our city next time? Can you guys protect our city next time?” a passerby asked.
Police have arrested nearly 50 people since that night for charges ranging from theft to trafficking stolen property.
Scottsdale's police chief has said the department did not anticipate the amount of people that showed up that night but says he is proud of their response.