Traffic Stop Turns Deadly After Officer Shoots Suspect
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MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) -- A traffic stop along the Palmetto Expressway ended with shots fired and an officer being thrown from the hood of a car.
The suspect ended up several blocks away, where he later died, and a surveillance camera captured the entire incident.
Video rolled Wednesday afternoon as a Florida Highway Patrol motorcycle officer pulled over a red Nissan at N.W. 168th St. and 37th Ave.
But as the officer gets off his bike to confront the driver, the suspect quickly put his car into reverse and tried to get away.
The trooper then jumped on the hood of the car and pulled his gun, firing several shots into the driver's windshield.
The suspect speeds off.
"The trooper, for whatever reason, ends up on the hood. He fears for his life. Apparently, he discharges his weapon," said FHP spokesman Joe Sanchez, who didn't say why the trooper pulled the man over in the first place.
Moments after speeding away from the gas station, the driver of the Nissan crashed head-first into a woman behind the wheel of a black SUV. The impact then sent the Nissan crashing into a fence.
"I saw there was a young man, lying just outside the car. There were visible bullet holes in his arms and one in his chest," she said.
A person captured cellphone video of the trooper running over to render aid to the man he shot. But it was too late, the man died on the scene.
FHP said he had a female passenger with him who was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Witnesses said the driver he hit was also hurt.
"She said she wasn't feeling well but maybe she was shaken up from the hit," said Kel Crooks.
Witnesses said the highway patrol trooper was visibly shaken by the deadly encounter.
"He was slapping his hands on his bike like he was really upset. I guess when he realized the guy really died. Maybe he wasn't shooting to kill him but he was visibly upset," said Crooks.
FHP is not yet identifying the driver, his passenger or the trooper involved. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
Investigators have not said whether the female passenger in the suspect's car is facing charges.
The trooper, who has been with FHP for five years, will spend three days on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The second happened after a wild series of events that included a car chase and three teens.
Then, early Wednesday night, an undercover Miami-Dade police officer was forced to fire during drug sting operation.
