Shocking bodycam footage captured the moment a police officer clung to a speeding suspect's car before shooting the driver dead.
Police in Buffalo, New York released footage following the fatal shooting on Wednesday, showing the traffic stop turn chaotic as suspect Daevon Roberts, 25, tried to flee the scene.
Officer Ronald Ammerman initially pulled over Roberts for excessive speed and tinted windows, and cops found a 6-year-old relative in his passenger seat with no seatbelt on.
Roberts hit the accelerator as Ammerman had his arm on top of the car and leg inside the door, with the cop's bodycam showing him pleading to stop and telling Roberts, 'You're gonna kill me bro.'
Bodycam footage captured the moment a police officer pulled over Daevon Roberts, 25, who sped away from the traffic stop with the cop still in his car before he was shot dead
The footage showed police officer Ronald Ammerman cling for his life to the side of the speeding vehicle, warning Roberts: 'You're gonna kill me bro'
Police launched an investigation after Ammerman shot Roberts six times during the altercation, and with Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia concluding that it was a lawful killing.
'I believe that is a justified use of force that occurred the other night,' Gramaglia said at a press conference.
'When you take into account the fact that the officer found himself in a grave risk of serious physical injury or death, the use of that level of force is justified by law and I do believe that that is a justified use of force in this case.'
In the footage, Ammerman was heard asking Roberts for his ID, but the suspect only produced a picture of a Georgia license on his phone.
Ammerman ran the license number and found it was not valid, leading Roberts to claim that the car he was driving belonged to his sister.
He claimed that he is pulled over for the window tint 'every day', but as Ammerman remains by his side for several more seconds, Roberts decided to attempt to flee.
The video shows Ammerman desperately cling to the side of the car as Roberts accelerated to over 60mph.
Daevon Roberts, 25, was killed in the incident, and was facing charges of attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon at the time of his death
Ammerman initially pulled over Roberts for excessive speed and tinted windows, and cops found a 6-year-old relative in his passenger seat with no seatbelt on
Separate footage from Ammerman's partner showed the vehicle speeding away from the scene at a rapid pace
Roberts was shot six times in the chaotic scenes, and was pronounced dead in hospital
Roberts appeared to try and kick the cop out of his car, before Ammerman fired several shots into the vehicle and it ground to a halt.
The six-year-old child in the car was uninjured in the incident, and Ammerman was seen racing to his side of the car as he stood up.
It is unclear how the child is related to Roberts, who calls him both his cousin and nephew in the footage.
Roberts was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, reports WIVB.
When cops searched his vehicle, they found a loaded gun with seven rounds under the driver's seat.
Both cops involved have been placed on administrative leave, and Gramaglia praised the efforts of his officers after the chaotic incident, and said such situations 'don't evolve in a training facility.'
'This is real life, there’s not a lot of control the way some of these situations go down. We can train for various situations but when it happens in real life, when there are actual situations, they always happen differently than what they do in a training facility,' he said.
It later emerged that Roberts is the half-brother of Jaylen Griffin, a 12-year-old Buffalo boy who went missing in August 2020 and whose body later found in a home in April 2024.
Roberts is the half-brother of Jaylen Griffin (pictured), a 12-year-old Buffalo boy who went missing in August 2020 and whose body later found in a home in April 2024
At a memorial for Griffin in April, Roberts was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief after allegedly firing shots at the ceremony.
He was later indicted in June as his charges were escalated tofirst-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Gramaglia said at his press conference that the family 'has been through a lot over the past several years.'
'It's a very sad situation all around.'
Buffalo homicide detectives and the Internal Affairs Division are also carrying out separate investigations into the shooting.
