Holly MatkinLittle Rock, AR – Dashcam footage captured the moment that a Little Rock police officer opened fire on an armed suspect from the hood of the suspect’s stolen car, after the man drove into him during a traffic stop (video below).
The fatal encounter occurred after Little Rock Officer Charles Starks spotted 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire driving a stolen vehicle in the area of Rodney Parham Road and West 12th Street on Feb. 22, KATV reported.
Blackshire backed into a parking place in a nearby lot, at which point Officer Starks drove up in his marked patrol vehicle with his lights activated, according to the Associated Press.
The officer drew his weapon, approached Blackshire’s driver’s side window, and ordered him to show his hands.
He then ordered Blackshire to get out of the vehicle multiple times, bodycam footage showed.
“What did I do?” Blackshire asked, refusing to get out of the car. “What are you going to shoot me for?”
“Get out of the car!” Officer Starks said repeatedly.
“No,” the suspect responded, just before he started driving the stolen vehicle towards the officer.
Officer Starks moved backwards and continued to issue commands, but Blackshire proceeded to drive into him.
The officer fired several rounds, at which point the car continued to move forwards, knocking Officer Starks onto the hood.
The officer fired multiple rounds at the driver through the windshield as the car carried him across the parking lot.
A second patrol car then pulled up, and collided with the passenger side of the stolen vehicle.
Officer Starks tumbled from the hood, and both officers converged on the driver.
“Put your f–king hands up!” the second officer ordered repeatedly.
But Blackshire accelerated again, sending the vehicle into a grassy area at the far end of the lot, where it crashed into something off-camera and came to rest near a tree.
“Hey, can I jump out?” a female passenger in the suspect vehicle asked the officers.
The woman climbed out of the passenger side window, then said something to one of the officers.
“She said he’s got a gun!” Officer Starks yelled out.
The officers repeatedly ordered Blackshire to show his hands and radioed for an ambulance.
Blackshire died at the scene, Little Rock Interim Police Chief Wayne Bewley said, according to the Associated Press.
Officer Starks suffered an injury to his right leg, and the female passenger in the stolen car was uninjured.
According to KATV, Officer Starks has been placed on administrative leave, and was required to hand over his gun and badge.
The initial criminal investigation has been forwarded to prosecutors so they can determine whether or not charges will be filed, Chief Bewley said, according to the Associated Press.
An internal investigation into the officers’ use of force is ongoing.
According to Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also looking into the officer-involved shooting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Omavi Shakur, an attorney for Blackshire’s family, has denounced the agency’s account of what occurred, and said that there was no evidence that Blackshire was aware he was driving a stolen car, KATV reported.
Shakur has asked the Arkansas State Police to open an independent investigation into the shooting.
The Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police (LRFOP) is standing behind the city’s officers, and released a statement addressing the police force on Thursday, KATV reported.
“We know that you put your lives on the line every day you go to work,” the union said. “We know that Monday morning quarterbacks and Facebook experts will second guess your split-second decisions sitting on a couch with a phone or a computer. You have the same constitutional rights as every citizen and we will make sure you are afforded due process.”
You can watch a shorter version of the department’s 25-minute video release in the link below: