New body camera footage shows the moment police officers in Port St. Lucie exchanged gunfire with a man armed with an AK-47 in a shootout that left the suspect dead and a sergeant critically injured.
The shootout haappened Monday night after a group of six officers responded to a disturbance in a Port St. Lucie neighborhood.
At some point, officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Frankie Salvatore Riccio.
“What are we doing, where’s he at, where’s he at?” an officer yells in the bodycam footage.
A barrage of gunfire can be heard as officers take cover.
“Sarge, are you ok?” an officer asks as the gunfire stops.
The footage shows the gunman down on the ground as an officer kicks away his weapon, an AK-47.
Port St. Lucie Police
Port St. Lucie Police
New body camera footage shows the moment police officers in Port St. Lucie exchanged gunfire with a man armed with an AK-47 in a shootout that left the suspect dead and a sergeant critically injured.
Sgt. Erik LeVasseur, a 27-year veteran of the department, was shot twice in the face.
He was rushed to a local hospital and was in critical condition.
Port St. Lucie Police
Port St. Lucie Police
Sgt. Erik LeVasseur
Riccio was killed at the scene. Officials said the initial call came from his mother, who said he’d been abusing marijuana and she thought he was armed with a hunting rifle.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident, which is standard practice in police shootings.