Authorities in Tennessee have released body and dashcam footage of a violent traffic stop outside a Dollar General store that left a Metro Nashville police officer critically wounded and another woman dead.
Metro Nashville Police Officer Josh Baker thought he was pulling over a wanted man when he stopped 31-year-old Nika Nicole Holbert late Friday morning, the Tennesseean reported. He’d been patrolling Brick Church Pike around 9 a.m. when he spotted a black 2015 Chevrolet Camaro registered to Desmond Buchanan, wanted at the time on six outstanding warrants related to drug charges.
Footage shows Baker ordering Holbert out of the vehicle. Though she objects, she initially complies with all demands.
“Listen,” Baker says, asking Holbert to quit attempting to get back into her vehicle. “Just come back here. I just think we’re getting off on the wrong foot.”
Then Baker appears to discover marijuana and a white substance in clear bags. That’s when Holbert’s behavior begins to change.
“Her compliance changed after Officer Baker found what appeared to be marijuana and a powder substance in her bag, and attempted to detain her while waiting for backup officers,” MNPD’s Don Aaron said.
Footage shows Baker attempting to put handcuffs on Holbert. However, she immediately begins to resist.
“No … Don’t put me in handcuffs,” Holbert insists. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
At this point, Holbert grabs her bag off the back of the car and runs around to the driver’s side door. The entire time she cries for help and claims she didn’t do anything.
Baker warns her he is about to Tase her. But Holbert jumps into the driver’s seat, seemingly ready to run for it. So Baker hits her with the Taser. But Baker swats at least one of the prongs away, and instead of being immobilized, she manages to reach for a gun. The footage then shows the sudden, brief gunfight.
“What happened today is a reminder that being a police officer anywhere can be a dangerous job. My thoughts and prayers are with Officer Baker and with the families of everyone involved,” Mayor John Cooper said in a statement, reported Tennessean.
According to OpposingViews:
Baker was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center Trauma Center in critical condition and remained hospitalized in stable condition after surgery.
“I’ve reviewed the body cam footage, he appeared to do everything he could to try to de-escalate the situation, including the use of Taser, including trying not to use his firearm,” MNPD Chief John Drake said.
According to Chief Drake, Baker couldn’t release Holbert because she had drugs and didn’t have a driver’s license. “There’s nothing else he could have done better other than maybe leave the scene and let her go away, and obviously, he couldn’t do that,” he said.
However, Holbert’s mother stated that she disagreed with the chief’s assessment and was hiring an attorney, adding that she wasn’t surprised that her daughter pulled a gun on Baker. “He was trying to kill her with that Taser and she was trying to protect herself,” she said.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: OpposingViews, The Police Tribune, Tennesseean