Florida deputies release bodycam video after officer shot, suspect killed during chase
Officer is recovering after being shot in a leg
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Florida sheriff’s deputies released body-camera footage of a deadly shooting in which a police officer was injured and a suspect killed during a chase over the weekend.
The chase began around 4 p.m. Saturday when a Port Orange police officer tried to pull over a driver, who instead sped away toward New Smyrna Beach, police said. Deputies deployed stop sticks and the green Lincoln sedan crashed outside a storage facility.
FLORIDA POLICE RELEASE BODY-CAM FOOTAGE OF SHOOTING; SUSPECT HAD SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Matthew Thomas of Holly Hill, bailed out of the car and opened fire on officers from inside the facility, police said.
Hunnefeld, a former Marine and combat veteran, was in good spirits as he recovered at a hospital, police said. (New Smyrna Police Department)
Cpl. Ralph Hunnefeld of the New Smyrna Police Department was struck in a leg and wounded. Officers returned fire and killed Thomas moments later, police said.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office released bodycam footage from Deputy Brady Bergeron who was involved in the shooting. Sheriff Mike Chitwood called the video “harrowing” at a news briefing Sunday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The video shows officers outside the storage facility exchanging gunfire with Thomas, who was inside, Chitwood said. When Thomas walks outside, he is shot and killed, the video shows.
Officers and Thomas exchanged gunfire at the storage facility, police said. (Volusia County Sheriff's Office)
“These officers and deputy did an outstanding job when faced with a deadly threat,” New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Mike Coffin said.
Hunnefeld, a 36-year-old former Marine who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was recovering at a hospital where officials said he was in good spirits. He joined the department in 2011.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
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The involved officers and the deputy have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice.