VIDEO: Livonia police open fire on suspected drunk driver who pulled gun
LIVONIA, Mich. (WJBK) - A man leads Livonia police on a chase then points a long gun at the officers who pulled him over. The officers opened fire wounding him several times.
At 2 a.m. on April 10, Livonia police pulled over a suspected drunk driver. They approached the car and say he pulled a gun on the officers. All of it was captured on police dashboard camera.
The video shows an officer walk up to the car:
"How you doing ... Put that thing away!" the officer says before pulling a gun after the driver allegedly pulled a long gun.
The two officers opened fire on the vehicle, pulled over at Farmington Road and Lyndon - just north of I-96.
"I woke up hearing sirens and then I heard a gunshot," said neighbor Arika Trachsel. "And immediately I called my husband because he wasn't home.
"At that point I looked outside and cops were out, guns were drawn, I stayed away from the window at that point."
Trachsel was concerned her family was in danger.
"I was just worried something was going to come through my windows," she said.
Something like a bullet - and it almost did - there was a hole on the side of her garage.
"It was lodged in the house - they came and pulled it out for evidence I guess," she said.
Joseph Carlton was pulled over for driving erratically. You can see him point a rifle right out the window at the officer. That officer and another pulled their guns and then start shooting.
The officers were fine; the suspect was hit twice suffering non-life-threatening injuries. He was charged with felonious assault, felony firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, assaulting-resisting a police officer and driving while intoxicated - second offense.
He is being held on a million dollar bond.
"It's very close to home," Trachsel said. "This is a really quiet neighborhood - we're just a bunch of families in here. It was very scary and shocking to be honest."