By Joshua Tehee
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno man has been given a life sentence after he nearly shot an officer in the head during a shootout last year with police that left him critically wounded.
Bradley Nicholson, Sr. was sentenced in superior court on Thursday to 14 years to life in state prison (plus an additional consecutive 14 years) for the Dec. 7 incident, in which he shot at a Fresno police officer with a .380 caliber pistol.
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The officer recognized Nicholson in an area near Clinton and West avenues and was attempting a post-release community supervision compliance check when Nicholson pulled and fired a gun, hitting the top of the officer’s department-issued baseball cap.
Police body camera footage shows the officer returned fire as the man fled.
It was a second officer who eventually shot Nicholson before the man barricaded himself behind a vehicle in a carport. He surrendered after negotiations and was taken to the hospital.
Last year, Nicholson pled no contest to one count of attempted murder of a peace officer while personally using a firearm, and one count of assault on a peace officer with a semi-automatic firearm, the Fresno County District Attorney’a Office said in a news release.
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