florida deputies ambushed during traffic stop

Florida deputies ambushed during traffic stop full#

Ivey said Wilder ‘fired numerous rounds at our deputies’ and ‘used the butt of the rifle to violently and repeatedly strike Deputy Potters in the head, causing significant injuries and lacerations’. The suspect then ambushes Potters from behind, beating him with the gun and knocking him to the ground. Wilder runs towards the deputies and they try to take cover behind the sheriff’s car. ‘I’ve been hit,’ Potters shouts as Wilder starts hopping on one foot, appearing to have been shot too. Potters is seen running away from the gunman as Wilder takes cover behind the car and continues shooting. ‘He (Potters) is immediately and without warning ambushed with a small stock AR-15-styled rifle that is pointed and fired directly at him,’ Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the video. He was out on bond for two felony drug charges and two active felony warrants when the shooting happened. The two other men who were at the traffic stop initially fled when the gunfire erupted but returned to the scene shortly after and are now assisting with the investigation.Paris Wilder (pictured) was a career criminal with 40 previous arrests.

Florida deputies ambushed during traffic stop full#

Brevard County Sheriff's Office “This individual had absolutely no regard for human life and was focused on only one thing - killing our deputies to avoid arrest as he knew he was facing several minimum mandatory prison sentences in his pending cases.” The sheriff said Potters is expected to make a full recovery. The deputies shot back at killed Wilder in the crossfire. Brevard County Sheriff's Office Deputies at the scene. Dashcam footage captured the dramatic scenes of the traffic strop turned shooting. Brevard County Sheriff's Office Dashcam footage captured the dramatic scenes of the traffic strop turned shooting. Potters was wounded in the leg and buttocks. “For those out there who might be foolish enough to ask why we shot him so many times, that answer is simple - because evil can never be dead enough,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey said.

Wilder was described by the sheriff’s office as a career criminal with 40 prior arrests. The sheriff’s office said Deputy Thoman fired the fatal shots at Wilder as the gunman was attacking Deputy Potters. He then repeatedly struck Deputy Potters in the head with his gun. Wilder then chased the two deputies even as they fired at him. Deputy Potters was shot as he tried to take cover behind his vehicle. Wilder burst out of the car with the rifle and immediately opened fire on the two deputies, the footage showed. Brevard County Sheriff's Office Their exchange took a turn after the deputy asked Wilder to step out of the vehicle. Potters was shot as Wilder took out the gun. Brevard County Sheriff's Office The officers had made the traffic stop before the scene escalated. Brevard County Sheriff's Office Deputy Tyler Thoman was targeted with Potters by Paris Wilde. Deputy Brian Potters Deputy was performing a traffic stop when the incident wildly escalated.

It wasn’t immediately clear why deputies stopped the men.ĭeputy Potters could be seen joking with Wilder as he sat in the backseat after the deputy spotted a two-year-old child and dog sitting next to him. The gunman ended up being shot dead as deputies returned fire, while deputy Potters suffered gunshot wounds to his leg and buttocks.įootage released by the sheriff’s office on Friday showed the deputies speaking to two men outside the stopped car just moments before the ambush unfolded.

Two Florida sheriff’s deputies were ambushed during a traffic stop after a man armed with an AR-15 style rifle stormed out of a vehicle and opened fire on them, terrifying new dashcam video shows.īrevard County Sheriff’s Deputies Brian Potters and Tyler Thoman were targeted by gunman Paris Wilder, 38, during the stop in West Melbourne on Aug.