By James Hartley
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DALLAS — Dallas police officers fired 24 rounds at a suspect who the department said opened fire at the officers after they tried to conduct a traffic stop on the man for a felony warrant, according to a Tuesday news release.
No one was injured by the gunfire, but three officers were injured when the suspect rammed their patrol cars, police said.
The man was found around 2:10 a.m. on March 12 at the Vina Game Room at 12809 Audelia Road, according to police. Seth Michael Anderson, 34, was known to police as a felon with a history of fleeing police, according to the department.
The department said he ran from police and at one point hit multiple police vehicles and injured three officers before continuing to flee. He was eventually boxed in at an apartment complex at 9350 Skillman St., where he opened the driver side door and began shooting at police, according to the department.
Police said officers took cover before returning fire. After exchanging fire, Anderson got out of the vehicle and raised his hands as if to surrender before taking off in an attempt to run from police on foot. He was tased and taken into custody, according to police.
Anderson is charged with four counts of aggravated assault against a public servant, a first-degree felony; a probation violation for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, a first-degree felony; one count of evading arrest or detention with a vehicle, a third-degree felony; one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, a third-degree felony; and one count of resisting arrest, search or transport, a Class A misdemeanor.
Dallas police released body and dash camera footage of the chase and the shooting. The video contains audio and visuals of Anderson and police exchanging gunfire, as well as profane language.
The footage shows one officer telling dispatch that a driver had just rammed his vehicle as the driver leaves the area. One officer tells others that the driver hit a squad car and another calls for an ambulance.
Dash camera footage from the vehicle of Officer Hemm, identified only by his last name, shows Anderson strike the door of another vehicle as he drives away, pushing the door into an officer who is standing behind it. Hemm can be seen running around from the back of his car to the front, getting back in and pursuing Anderson through the apartment complex.
Officer Hemm is shown getting out of his police vehicle after telling dispatch he believed the driver was going to bail, then ducking and running behind his car as the driver, identified by police as Anderson, begins shooting at officers.
Anderson can be seen opening his door in the dash camera video and firing a handgun toward Hemm’s vehicle.
“Shots fired, shots fired,” Hemm can be heard shouting in his body camera video.
Dash camera video shows bullets striking Hemm’s vehicle. At one point, Anderson appears to stop shooting and then start again a few seconds later.
At one point, Hemm appears to load a new magazine into his handgun in the body camera video.
Police return fire in the video, then tell Anderson to put the car in park, keep his hands where they can see them, get out of the vehicle with his hands up and to not reach for anything.
In the dash camera video, Anderson can be shown slowly exiting the vehicle, at first with his hands in the air then with them held in front of him as he lowers himself to the ground.
“Do not reach, I will [expletive] shoot you dead,” Hemm shouts as Anderson gets out of the vehicle after having shot at officers. “I will end you.”
Police said they recovered 14 spent shell casings from Anderson’s gun at the scene.
Almost immediately when his hands touch the ground, Anderson can be seen in the dash camera video jumping up and running.
When officers tell Anderson to get on the ground, he runs into the apartment complex and officers pursue. At one point, an officer appears to attempt to tackle Anderson but is unsuccessful. About 10 seconds later, Anderson falls to the ground and officers catch up to him.
“Do not [expletive] move, I will put a bullet in your head,” Hemm says in the body camera footage as he reaches Anderson.
Hemm can be seen putting the gun to Anderson’s head and tells him to lie flat on the ground. As more officers arrive, one with a rifle, Anderson tells them to “shoot me already.”
“Just do it,” Anderson can be heard shouting. “Do it. I’m reaching for a gun. Just shoot me already. I’m reaching for a gun. Just shoot me.”
It is unclear from the video if Anderson actually still had the gun with him or not.
At least four officers worked to get Anderson into handcuffs. In Hemm’s body camera footage, as Anderson appears to be trying to keep one hand away from the cuffs, an officer at one point tases him after he screams, “Kill me. Please. Kill me. Kill me. Kill me.”
They tell him to stop resisting as Anderson appears to try to keep officers from cuffing his other hand.
The department said this was its first shooting in which officers fired their guns this year.
(c)2022 the Fort Worth Star-Telegram