By Ashley Silver
Police1
DECATUR, Ill. — Recently released video footage reveals stunning details about an Illinois shooting earlier this month that left two officers wounded and a suspect dead.
The traffic stopped turned deadly when a suspect opened fire on the officers moments after he was pulled over, according to WAND News. Video shows Jamontey O. Neal, 32, refusing to comply after police asked him to show his hands and place them on the steering wheel. At that point, one officer noticed what he suspected was a handgun in the back seat of the suspect’s vehicle and tried to remove Neal from the car.
The suspect then pulled a second firearm from underneath his body and fired multiple rounds from close range toward the officers, according to the report. During the gunfight, Neal and two Decatur officers were struck several times.
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In the video, Sgt. Timothy Wittmer can be heard saying, “I’m hit all over.”
Decatur Police Chief Shane Brandel gave an update on Wittmer, who took the most fire during the attack: “Sergeant Wittmer was in the worst possible situation in this incident,” Brandel told WAND News. “He had been hit multiple times by gunfire. He went down to the ground. His vision was impaired. He had a malfunction of his weapon and he was completely exposed to the person who was trying to kill him.”
Officer Austin Bowman was also shot one time in the lower abdomen and it was a “through and through” wound, Brandel told WAND News. Both Wittmer and Bowman have been released from the hospital and are recovering, according to the report.
Shortly after the incident, the Decatur Police Department shared a social media photo to show the public an example of the dangers officers face each day.
“Although it may be difficult to look at, it should serve as a reminder to this community, our state and our country of the level of dedication police officers have, and their willingness to sacrifice their very lives to keep our communities safe,” DPD wrote in the post.
Neal was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the shooting.