Officer shot during car chase, incident caught on dash cam - NY Daily News

Officer shot during car chase, incident caught on dash cam  - NY Daily News




An Indiana police officer was recovering Wednesday after being shot during a routine traffic stop, and the suspected gunman was later found with a cache of weapons and a pound of marijuana in his car, law enforcement officials said.

Fortville Officer Matt Fox was in “good” condition after being shot multiple times, and the terrifying incident was recorded on Fox’s dash cam.

The suspect, James Lockhart III, 27, was later killed in a shootout with police.

Fox had attempted to pull over Lockhart around 11:30 p.m. on July 27 for a broken taillight. The video captures Lockhart’s white Volvo speeding away. Officer Fox follows the Volvo into the front yard of a home, and that’s when the gunman jumped from the car, firing at least eight shots through the front windshield and driver’s side window of the police car.

On the video, Fox can be heard yelling “help, help, help” after being struck.
The gunman sped away and police mobilized to find the suspect, finally cornering him in a Lawrence, Ind., apartment complex, The Indianapolis Star reported.

Lockhart allegedly rammed several squad cars with his own vehicle in an attempt to get away, and then opened fire on officers, who returned fire, killing him. Lockhart had two dogs in the car. One was killed and the other ran away, The Star reported.

Police say they found a stockpile of weapons in the car, including an AR-15 assault rifle. He also had an SKS rifle, a .44 magnum and a .22-caliber pistol.

All those weapons are legal in the state, though Lockhart did not have a valid gun permit, according to Kendale Adams, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Lockhart also had four machetes and a pound of marijuana packaged for street sale, Adams said.

vcavaliere@nydailynews.com