Dashcam Shows Routine Traffic Stop Turns Into Police Shootout

A traffic stop in South Florida turned dangerous early Sunday morning when the driver opened fire on the officer who stopped him. The shooting was caught on a Miami Gardens police officer's dash cam. After pulling the driver over for driving with his headlights off, the officer noticed he was wearing what appeared to be a bulletproof vest. Police said the officer asked the driver if he had any weapons in the car and asked the driver to get out of the car.

The officer and the driver, 37-year-old Gary Sprauve, exchanged gunfire, and Sprauve was shot. The officer’s vehicle was also shot on the passenger’s side during the gunfire. Sprauve, now wounded, drove away from the scene. The officer sped after him, and the chase ended at 191st Street and North Miami Avenue near the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the way, police said Sprauve hit a civilian car. The man was taken to a Aventura Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police recovered the man’s gun from the scene of the traffic stop, plus an additional gun and a bulletproof vest from Sprauve’s car. The officer, who has been with the department nearly four years, was not injured. Sprauve, who was convicted of burglary in 2007, was charged with first-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, two counts of owning a gun during a felony, two counts of owning a gun as a convicted felon and wearing a bulletproof vest while trying to kill a police officer.