SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The San Diego Police Department Thursday released video footage of the fatal shooting by two patrolmen of a gun-toting motorist who got into a shootout with them last week following a pursuit in Barrio Logan.
SDPD Officers Christopher Aguilar and Jacob Meyers opened fire on Christopher Dearman, 37, in the 2000 block of Logan Avenue on Friday evening.
Paramedics took Dearman to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Aguilar and Meyers suffered no injuries in the exchange of gunfire.
The events that led to the deadly law enforcement shooting began at about 11:30 p.m., when police pulled Dearman over because a brake light was out on the red Dodge Ram pickup truck he was driving, according to police.
Detecting the odor of marijuana, Aguilar and Meyers told Dearman, who admitted to possessing the drug, that they had to search his car to determine if he was transporting cannabis illegally. He resisted, prompting an argument during which Aguilar told Dearman that if he failed to comply, the officers would "yank" him out of the truck.
Meyers then ran a computer check on Dearman and "learned additional officer-safety information" about him, including that he had three prior convictions for illegally carrying a firearm in a vehicle, according to police.
SDPD VIDEO (VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED):
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Later, a supervisorial officer arrived, and the personnel again directed Dearman to step out of the vehicle. Dearman refused, saying the personnel did not have "the right" to remove him from the truck.
Aguilar then opened the driver's-side door, at which point Dearman started the engine and drove off.
The suspect fled for two blocks, then pulled to a stop, got out and "immediately fired a handgun at the officers" as they were exiting their patrol vehicle, according to an SDPD statement.
Footage from a security camera on the roadside captured images reflected in a window that shattered during the shooting of Dearman getting out of the truck and pointing a pistol in the direction of the officers, prompting them to unleash a fusillade of gunfire at him.
Aguilar's and Meyers' uniform-worn cameras also recorded video and audio of the shootout, during which Dearman collapsed onto a traffic lane, screaming and cursing, while trying to run across the street.
At least one bullet fired by Dearman struck the front of the officers' cruiser, narrowly missing Meyers, according to police.
