By Mattie Fitzpatrick | September 9, 2024
Photo Credit: Mattie Fitzpatrick / The ASP
The University at Albany Police Department released officer body cam footage of an incident from Aug. 27, 2024 where an officer discharged his gun after he was reportedly hit by a suspect's vehicle before an ensuing car chase took place, ending at Albany Medical Center Hospital Emergency Room.
The officer fired two shots, the first time an officer has fired their weapon on the UAlbany campus, before the offending vehicle pulled away with four occupants inside. Three of the four occupants were charged, and although shots were fired at the driver’s side door of the suspect vehicle, UPD reported no one was hit.
Body cam footage shows the vehicle approaching the officer the moment before and during the shots were fired by the UPD officer. The video, posted to the New York State University Police at Albany Youtube channel, is annotated by UPD and has the raw 17 second footage.
The officer is shown to be clearly raising his hands and commanding the car to stop before the vehicle turns in their direction. The vehicle is then pursued by another unit of officers while the injured officer follows in a foot pursuit, conveying into their radio, “Four-10, shots fired - he almost ran me over.”
The officer appears not to be severely injured in the moments after impact, although they are out of breath. It was later released by UPD that the officer, a twelve year veteran of the force, was not seriously injured in this incident and was released from the hospital, shortly after this incident.
Initial police radio transmission reported that a suspect was shot and receiving treatment at Albany Medical Center Hospital - UPD explained in the email they sent to students alongside the bodycam footage that one of the suspects had originally reported being shot before it was found none of them had been struck.
The suspects were banned from campus earlier in the evening for “threatening and harassing conduct” according to UPD Chief Paul Burlingame. This incident supposedly occurred during a routine traffic stop where UPD officers attempted to take the individuals into custody.
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