A SHOCKING video shows the moment an undercover US police officer fatally shoots a man who was allegedly attempting to take his car from him.
Detective Matthew Hayden was casing a house in Louisville, Kentucky last Monday (19 JUN) from an unmarked silver Nissan when a 21-year-old suspect approached him in an apparent carjacking attempt.
The man – later identified as dad-of-two Mark Jaggers Jr. – flung the door open whilst brandishing a gun, but was shockingly fatally shot by Hayden before he can even react.
Footage captured from the perspective of Hayden’s body camera shows Jaggers – who was wearing a black hoodie and black ski mask – quickly approaching the police officer’s car.
Hayden, seemingly already aware of what is about to happen, shouts “Police!” right as Jaggers pulls the car door open, whilst apparently pointing a gun at the officer.
Before the suspect can do a thing though, Hayden fires three rapid shots at the young man, who is knocked backwards onto the grass outside, before the detective steps out after him.
Hayden immediately shouts “Give me your hands!” before uttering into his radio: “Shots fired, shots fired.”
He turns to look down at Jaggers, who lies stunned on the ground with his hands up, asking exasperatedly: “F**k. What is your deal bro?”
Hayden then speaks back into his radio, asking his colleagues to come round to him as someone has just tried to rob him, to which Jaggers interjects: “I wasn’t going to rob you.”
Hayden then asks for Jagger’s name, which he weakly gives before grim footage appears to show him trying to cling to life, by literally grasping at tree branches beside him
Suddenly a car pulls up nearby and a frantic woman jumps out, shouting: “That’s my baby daddy! Did you just shoot my baby daddy?”
Detective Hayden tells her to stay back while requesting for backup again, telling dispatchers: “I’ve got people showing up.”
Meanwhile, the woman continues to scream frantically, claiming she has their son in the car behind her, before demanding to know where Jaggers got shot and yelling out his name.
She tries getting closer to the scene but Hayden warns her to keep back, before other officers soon arrive and direct her away from the scene.
Officers later rendered first aid to the suspect in an attempt to save Jagger’s life before he was further transported to a local hospital by paramedics.
However, Jaggers succumbed to his wounds and was declared dead by doctors.
Kentucky State Police Captain Paul Blanton later stated Jaggers was armed when he approached Detective Hayden.
Jaggers’ father later told local media he was upset about his son’s death and claimed he would never try to carjack police officers.
His father reportedly added that Jaggers did not know an officer would be sitting inside the unmarked vehicle.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement that Hayden “acted appropriately, heroically, and bravely, and rapidly in response to someone trying to carjack his car while he was in the line of duty.”
Greenberg added: “I want to thank the Kentucky State Police for their assistance with this investigation and I appreciate their hard work to release this video in a timely manner.
“Any time a person loses their life like this it is a tragedy. In this case, it is clear from the video that the officer was protecting his own life from an armed assailant.
“He quickly called for help, rendered aid, and made sure to record the entire encounter by activating his body-worn camera.
“This is another tragic example of why we must keep guns off our streets and ensure we are doing all we can to prevent young people from turning to violence and crime.
“Our administration and the entire community remain committed to that goal.”
Police said no further information would be released at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
