OPD officer opens fire on stolen car

Orlando Police just released two videos which show an incident where a traffic stop turned into a split second decision for a police officer to shoot at a car coming right at him.

It happened earlier this month.

The two video clips show what happened before the decision of Orlando Police Officer Jonathan Mills to fire shots at a car.   

The first video is from the officer’s body camera.

The second is from a nearby store’s security camera system.

Police say on January 16,  two officers did a traffic stop on Trevon Lamons, 17.  

The video shows officers ordering him to stop, but he does not.

Then, Lamons backs into another car and drives toward Officer Mills.  

Former police officer and narcotics agent James Copenhaver says an officer must decide within a split second whether or not to shoot to stop a suspect and to defend the officer’s own life.
 
He said, “It happens right now and it’s in your face, and you literally have a split second to get out of the way or try to get out of the way of that 10,000-pound missile coming toward you.”

Copenhaver says looking at the video, it appears police followed proper procedures by parking their cruiser to block in the car, by giving commands for the driver to stop and by using batons to smash the window to try to stop the driver.  
Lamons faces several charges.    

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident.  

Mills is on paid administrative leave during that investigation.

See the video on OPD's YouTube page.