Tampa police officer on leave after firing at suspect during foot chase

A Tampa police officer was placed on leave after shooting at a suspect during a drug-related foot chase Saturday night, the agency said.

The officer — whom the Tampa Police Department did not identify — saw two people engaged in “narcotic-related activities” in an alley on the 400 block of South Howard Avenue at about 11:30 p.m., the agency said in a news release.

The officer began to chase the suspect on foot but lost sight of him. The officer found the suspect, a 24-year-old man, hiding next to a car on the 400 block of South Albany Avenue, the news release states.

The officer “saw the suspect motion toward his waistband,” and he fired one round toward the suspect, the news release states.

The suspect was not hit by the gunshot and was not injured. He was taken into custody on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence and resisting arrest without violence, the news release states.

The officer, who was uninjured, was placed on routine administrative leave while the department investigates.

No further information was released.