Fresno Police Release Bodycam of Officer-Involved Shooting of Bradley Nicholson

The Fresno Police Department released body-worn camera footage Feb. 27, 2026 labeled "Critical Incident Video December 7, 2025 (Fresno Police Department)" that shows officers exchanging gunfire with 41-year-old Bradley Nicholson in an alley near West Avenue and Clinton Avenue after Nicholson allegedly fired at officers and struck a department baseball cap. The YouTube posting includes a viewer advisory that the footage contains profanity and may be difficult to watch.

Video and department materials place the original encounter at about 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2025, when officers approached Nicholson after reporting him as "acting suspiciously" in the alley near the West and Clinton intersection. Bodycam audio captures Nicholson saying "let me go" multiple times during a physical struggle immediately before he produced a handgun and fired at officers.

Two Fresno police officers returned fire during the exchange, and one round from the suspect struck an officer's ball cap, a detail Deputy Chief Rob Beckwith emphasized when the department released a photo of the damaged hat: "one of the bullets hit the ball cap one officer was wearing." After the initial gunfire, Nicholson moved into a nearby carport and barricaded himself while officers repeatedly pleaded with him to drop the weapon.

SWAT officers and negotiators responded to the scene; the footage shows Nicholson surrendering after their arrival. Officers involved in the shooting were not injured, and supervisors on scene coordinated transport for the wounded suspect. Nicholson was shot once in the upper torso and rushed to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was reported in critical but stable condition while remaining in custody; he will be booked into the Fresno County Jail upon his release from the hospital.

Law enforcement has said Nicholson faces multiple counts, including attempted murder of a police officer and several firearm-related charges, and multiple reports indicate he has already pleaded no contest to two charges related to the Dec. 7 incident. Records released with the video note Nicholson had been on Post Supervised Community Supervision for burglary and that a felony warrant was issued for him in September 2025.

The department identified this encounter as the sixth officer-involved shooting in Fresno during 2025. The public release includes the edited body-worn camera footage and the photo of the struck hat; investigators have not released the names of the officers who fired, the number of rounds exchanged, or the administrative status of any internal review. Booking details and formal charging documents remain pending following Nicholson's hospital release as prosecutors and investigators continue to process the case.