Harrowing dash-cam video shows a driver open fire on a Michigan police officer during a traffic stop on Saturday.
The footage, which was released Monday by the Battle Creek Police Department, shows Officer Brad Gentry pull over a car in what appears a routine traffic stop.
Gentry approaches the driver’s side window and says, “What’s up, man.”
No sooner are the words out of his mouth than the driver pulls a handgun and fires a single shot, barely missing Gentry’s head.
Stunned and temporarily deafened, Gentry stumbles back as the car speeds away. Gentry then returns fire at the fleeing vehicle, reporting into his radio, “Shots fired!”
The dash-cam clip documents the ensuing chase through residential streets at speeds as high as 70 miles per hour.
According to WOOD-TV, the suspect eventually ditched his vehicle, took off on foot, dropped his gun into a snow bank and then took cover in his mother’s home about a mile from the spot where he was pulled over. A standoff ended around 7 p.m. when a police K9 unit bit the suspect, the station said.
Battle Creek Police Maj. Jim Grafton said that Gentry, who’s been with the department for two years, is recovering.
“He’s not back on the job. He will be soon,” Grafton said. “We’re just thankful that he’s able to return back to the job. After that incident, he returned home safely to his friends and family.”
Darriyone Zamone Clark-Brown, 21, faces charges including assault with intent to murder and carrying a concealed weapon. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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