Newly released video shows officers open fire as suspect in pickup truck charges at them

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ABCNews.com(NEW YORK) —   Sirens blaring, squad cars charged down a rural dirt road in Michigan, on the heels of a man on the run in a Chevy pickup truck who’d allegedly threatened gun violence.

Newly released footage captured the Nov. 28 incident, which ended with officers fatally shooting the suspect, 64-year old Robert Smith. The footage is compiled from dash- and bodycam videos first obtained by The Lansing State Journal and confirmed by ABC News.

When the suspect finally slows down, an Eaton County sheriff’s deputy jumps out of his car and yells, “Shut the car off! Shut the car off!” the footage shows. The man shouts back, “Shoot my ass!” then is seen whipping his truck around and accelerating toward the deputy’s vehicle, as well as another official car parked behind it.

The deputy opens fire as the truck hits his car, the footage shows.

“Shots fired! Shots fired! He hit my patrol car. He’s been struck,” the deputy yells as the suspect slams into the officer’s vehicle.

Altogether, 16 shots were fired, according to prosecutors, from the deputy and another detective on the scene. The detective was struck by his own vehicle in the melee and crawled to safety near the deputy.

An autopsy would later determine that the suspect was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.

The incident began when officers from the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office arrived at Smith’s home in Charlotte, Michigan, to serve an arrest warrant and search the residence, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office said.

Two days earlier, Smith had been arrested by Michigan Department of Natural Resources officers for allegedly driving while intoxicated. During the arrest, officers recovered a gun and Smith told officers he would not be afraid to commit gun violence and that he had nothing to lose, according to the prosecutor’s office.

While deputies were surveying Smith’s home prior to serving the warrant, they saw Smith leave the house in his pickup truck, the prosecutor’s office said.

They tried to stop the vehicle during that pursuit down rural dirt roads, but Smith refused to pull over, according to the prosecutor’s office, leading to the scene that unfolded on cameras rolling from the squad car’s dash and an officer’s lapel.

The autopsy also found that Smith had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit in the state of Michigan. The autopsy also found marijuana and prescription anti-depressants in Smith’s body at the time of his death.

Ingham County Prosecutor Carol Siemon, who was appointed special prosecutor in the case, announced earlier this month that no criminal charges would be filed against either officer involved in the fatal shooting.

“All persons have the right to use force to protect themselves and others from violence,” Siemon said in a statement. “A review of the body camera footage clearly shows that these deputies were under direct assault and used reasonable force under those circumstances.”

An internal review of the incident is still underway by the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office, according to The Lansing State Journal.

The Eaton County Sheriff’s office, Michigan State Police and Michigan Department of Natural Resources referred all queries to the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office.

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