Officials in Little Rock, Ar., have released video footage of a February incident in which a police officer fired 15 rounds into the windshield of a stolen vehicle while lying on the hood of the car. The driver of the vehicle died at the scene while the officer sustained minor injuries.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott said in a press conference that releasing the footage “is not intended to jeopardize the criminal investigation or the administrative investigation.” Rather, the video was released in an effort to be “accountable, clear, and transparent to the people of Little Rock.”
Local media reported last week that Officer Charles Starks had stopped 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire for being suspected of driving a stolen car. In the video, Starks can be heard ordering Blackshire at gunpoint to show his hands and step out of the vehicle.
“What’d I do?” Blackshire asks.
“Get out! I’ll explain to you in a second,” Starks responds.
Starks repeats his order, but Blackshire continues to refuse.
“I mean, what you gonna shoot me for?” he asks. “I ain’t got…”
Blackshire flatly refuses to get out of the car, and Starks can be heard speaking into his radio, “He’s refusing to get out of the car.”
The dashcam video appears to show Blackshire pull his car forward as Starks leans sideways to intercept the vehicle while firing his sidearm. But a different camera angle from a nearby business shows Blackshire turn his vehicle towards Starks while the officer moves in front of the vehicle.
SEE ALSO: New Harvard Study Finds No Racial Bias in Police Shootings
Starks fires four shots while moving from the side of the vehicle to stand in front of it. Once in front, he leans on the hood of the car and fires an additional 11 shots while the car continues to move forward.
Another police cruiser pulls into the parking lot while Starks is lying on the hood of the car and slams into the vehicle. It comes to a stop just a few yards from where it began, and the driver of the second police cruiser exits with a drawn sidearm.
Officer Starks moves to the other side of the stolen car and removes the passenger, later identified as 20-year-old Desaray Clarke, while the second officer, Michael Simpson, tries to remove Blackshire.
Clarke tells Starks that Blackshire has a gun, and Starks repeats that information to Simpson while the officer yells at Blackshire to “put your hands up!”
The officers call emergency medical services while other law enforcement vehicles arrive at the scene.
SEE ALSO: Video Begins to Clarify Deadly Police-Involved Courthouse Shooting of Teen
Starks joined the department in 2013 and has been reprimanded 10 times since 2015 for two vehicle crashes, two internal investigations, one citizen complaint and five divisional issues, according to local media. He was relieved of duty following this incident, and the case has been referred to the Pulaski County prosecutor to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police said in a statement that Starks deserves due process and that the public should withhold judgment until the investigation is complete. They also noted that the incident could have been avoided if Blackshire had complied with Starks’ initial order.
Blackshire’s family were among those calling for the public release of the video footage and said in a statement release by their attorney, “The video confirms our assessment that Charles Starks employed an unreasonable and excessive amount of force.”
Full Video Released by Little Rock Authorities
The Rules of engagement need to be hammered into these police. They used to be Peace officers. Now they’re cops. All to often TRIGGER HAPPY with little to no regard for the rights of the people they are supposed to be protecting and serving. The “THIN BLUE LINE” has become a big blue blanket used to cover the many disgraceful acts of today’s average COP.
“Starks joined the department in 2013 and has been reprimanded 10 times since 2015 for two vehicle crashes, two internal investigations, one citizen complaint and five divisional issues, according to local media. He was relieved of duty following this incident, and the case has been referred to the Pulaski County prosecutor to determine if criminal charges will be filed.”
Realize this was a good shoot and totally justifiable but the above sais one thing about this LEO in the two years time he’s on the force. Dump him fast as this guy is not someone you want your wife or kids to have pull you over.. JMHO.
It was unfortunate for the car thief to die, but then again, guess he won’t be committing that crime again and clogging up our courts. It was unfortunate that the policeman thought he had to use deadly force when it doesn’t appear that he really did. Both were stupid in this case from what I read. I learned to shoot at a very early age. One of the first things I was taught was never point a gun unless I was prepared to fire it. That being said, I suppose that just about everyone knows that also. So, when the officer pointed a gun at the guy, he should have obeyed the command. Therefore his getting killed was of his own doing. He knew he stole the car, he was no innocent and he knew why he was pulled over. I have no idea of what was going on in the officer’s mind at the time of this incident, but there are questions that need to be answered. As to the family of the criminal, well, you don’t raise your kids right, this is what happens. You don’t go around stealing cars and challenging police and expect to go home.
This is bullshit in many ways. Although I’m usually on the side of law enforcement and I won’t shed any tears over the perp being killed, (he got what he deserved) the officer was dead wrong. He may have assumed the victim was armed and maybe rightfully so, but they had him cornered with police. He wasn’t going anywhere and the officer did not know the guy was armed until AFTER he had emptied his magazine. Also this officer has 10 reprimands in the last 3+ years. To me, that tells me a lot about his competence. Now any of you fools who think you could have killed someone stealing your car and wouldn’t wind up in prison or at least losing everything you have defending yourself in court are naive to say the least.
Well done sir. That could have been so much worse. On your knees tonight and thank God he was watching out for you on this day.
Good shoot. He’ll walk, easily
He missed a lot… at point blank range.
Good job officer. This Peace Officer should be promoted and he performed the first rule of police work, he went home after his shift.
LMAO…the literal definition of a “hero”
https://staging-digest-ovh.gunsamerica.com/little-rock-officer/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=20190315_FridayDigest_217&utm_campaign=/digest/little-rock-officer/
An excellent example of a professional policeman using self restraint and prudent discretion stopping a bad guy that put him as well as the public at large in dire straights. He should receive a thank you and an opportunity to deal with the personal tragedy. Also the bad guys family should be left to deal with the reality of the human condition and the bad-bad behavior of a close relative!
Lot’s of stupid in this video. First and foremost, the bad guy. A cop has a gun pointed at you and tells you to get out of the stolen car . . . get out. Second, the cop (who has already had multiple duty infractions in his career) escalated the situation and deliberately threw himself on the hood of the car and started shooting.
The bad guy is no big loss, but the cop is no professional either.
I agree with your assessment. The fool in the car was deserving to a degree. However:
The training paradigm in the US needs to be completely changed. First and foremost the police need to be schooled in the Bill of Rights, and screened for a commitment to uphold it even above any law that might be passed. Secondly, they need serious de-escalation training. This should begin with the need to explain to people before ANY orders are given what the charges are and the reasons for them. This cop could have at least told the person in the vehicle what the charges were and why he needed to get out. Also, this whole deal about needing to go home at the end of the shift is BS! Get a different job if you can’t hack the minor danger involved in this occupation (Law Enforcement doesn’t even rank in the top 10 of the most dangerous jobs)!
Having said all that, the real issue is that the police are on the side of enforcing tyranny, and that is what is making their jobs truly lousy. I could never do this, and all my immediate family members who were LE are no longer because they realize that when you are on the side of tyranny, that thin blue line looks very thin against the righteous indignation of a nation!
I had a cop stop me for speeding years ago. It wasn’t this bad, I was on my motorcycle and when I reached for my wallet to get my license out he did a flying tackle taking me off the bike. I was on all fours and he was on my back screaming at me to “get down.” It took me a minute to realize what he wanted. As a generally law abiding citizen it wasn’t my first instinct to shove my face into the dirt. Once I lay down in the dirt it all went ok. About a year later the same cop intervened in a knife fight in a local bar and ended up dead. Sometimes it is better to remain calm and not try to be superman.
Everyone one who has commented so far needs to calm the F down and review the video again(or for first time). Cop learned he had a gun from hooker off camera and well after shots were fired. Cop was vindictive and on a manhunt. When cruiser pulled in front of Nissan he immediately confronted with weapon drawn. He needlessly escalated a “routine” stop before there was a threat. Also this cop was obviously “tweakin”. From his initial radio contact to immediately switch to unrecorded channel, to his handling of perp then his demeanor when backup arrived.
Now I know you all hate me and want to immediately chalk me up as a liberal queer. My gun safe and I hate Hillary as much as the next guy but I still know wrong when i see it.
What kind of Funt-muffin are you??? Just because you have a gun safe does not mean that you know right from wrong. Are you seriously suggesting that a police officer should approach a vehicle that is stolen and the driver is reported to have a gun, with his hands at his side holding a sticker hoping the bad guy made a mistake and is now going to do the right thing ??? Of course he approached with a gun drawn you dumb a**. He would be fired if he didn’t, he was arresting a felon. Go back to video games.
I didn’t chalk you up as being a liberal queer just an ignorant windbag.
I’m the kind yer mom bakes on Sunday mornin……… yer favorite.
AGAIN, there was zero mention of the driver being armed prior to the stop. The sole reason for pursuit and stop was the plates were flagged as a stolen vehicle by camera.
ONLY AFTER shots were fired did the nice hooker state that the driver had a gun. Then things escalated even further as the cop saw this as his justification for unnecessary “overcopping”.
This was a stolen vehicle stop. That does not automatically mean armed and violent felon inside. And since you just cant be sure, the cautious approach would have been to wait 5 min for backup, box him in and order him out of the car on the com. If that fails then the menace obviously needs to be removed from the planet ASAP before he can rape anymore of our righteous American sensibilities.
@Roger: I have been in a felony stop and that’s what they do, draw their weapons and give instructions. That part is a perfectly normal part of police procedure.
I was stopped for driving a stolen car and the cop just unsnapped his holster flap, didn’t pull a gun, walked up to the window and motioned for me to roll it down. Maybe my neighborhood is not like that in the video but looks similar. Turned out that the dispatcher had screwed up and all was well. I don’t know their standard procedure but it seems to me that jumping on a car and shooting the driver is a guarantee that someone is going to get seriously damaged for no good reason. If the perp pulled a gun the situation would be different, but killing people for being stupid seems a bit excessive.
No, Sir. You are a gun owning idiot. A moving vehicle is a weapon.
Why don\’t crooks obey the police? Obama told them not to now another one is dead for no reason. You just cannot fix stupid.
No, you can not fix stupid…you can however make it way inconvenient!
I feel sorry for the owner of the car. What is it going to cost to repair the damage from the bullets and the collision?
What’s the problem with shooting this thieving punk? Relieved of duty? He should be awarded a medal.
“The video confirms our assessment that Charles Starks employed an unreasonable and excessive amount of force.”
I would say that the suspect used an unreasonable and excessive amount of stupid.
Anyone who refuses to follow the reasonable direction of an officer of the law after having committed a crime, any crime, should not be surprised when the officer takes exception to that refusal. If said person is behind the wheel of a vehicle, something the courts have already ruled can be considered a deadly weapon, that person or his family should not be surprised if the officer also responds with deadly intentions.
Thank you for demonstrating the type of ignorance that is causing this problem. You don’t understand something so you automatically wish physical harm as the solution. I don’t know all the facts surrounding this but after watching the video it’s obvious that a uniformed police officer was pointing a gun at someone giving them a command and that suspect decided that rather than listen and sort it out in court if he believed he was being unfairly charged, he decided to try to leave. Where is your outrage that another ignorant criminal decided to ignore the commands of a police officer in uniform while pointing a gun at them? Disagreeing with a video or being upset with the situation is one thing, wishing a police officer ill will because you disagree is absolutely disgusting. You sir are truly a douche-canoe
Is it time that you have to be member to comment on GA articles?
Good job police. Moral of the story; Do not steal, do not point a gun at the police, do not try to run over the police.
Ever watch the old black and white crime movies? Back before the ‘Fleeing Felon’ law, which basically says a LEO can not shoot anybody running away from them after they said to stop, depicted in the old films, the LEO yells, “Stop or I’ll shoot!”, they don’t stop, and the old S&W Model 10 barks, end of story. The law seemed to able to handle the criminal in the movies and on the real streets with no more than 6 shots too.
So driving a stolen car is a Capital offense in Arkansas? Bad cops on a power trip need to be weeded out. They’re a danger to everyone, not just criminals.
Driving a stolen car is not a capital offense, having a handgun in your possession well driving a stolen car at a police officer is. Let me guess, you feel like you’re an attorney because you’ve watched a lot of episodes of Law and order?
As for being on a power trip, I would say he looked more nervous than anything. He certainly did not come off as the guy who just wanted to shoot somebody after ordering that POS to get out of the car 15 times in a row only to have him drive towards him.
A car is a deadly weapon. Assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon justifies a deadly forge response. Law enforcement officers are trained to continue to fire until the deadly force is neutralized. Six shots or 20 the criminal is just as dead.
You DO NOT attack a law enforcement officer!!
Like most people I don’t like being pulled over, getting a ticket, talking to a rude cop, etc. but I really hate armed criminals stealing cars and I’m really glad there are people willing to step up and deal with them.
After the 8th time he was commanded to put his left hand up he should have got shot in the head!!!
How can anyone say “this is a bad cop!” by simply what they see in the video? There are no cameras in the criminal vehicle showing what he’s doing. For all we know, the criminal may have looked like he was pulling out a weapon. Maybe the first shot was a bad decision; maybe not. In any case, favor stacks up on the side of the law when the dude is an illegally-armed thief. Doesn’t matter what color he is. It takes a lot of arrogance to ignore a man pointing a gun in your face. Even a half-intelligent imbicile will comply to a death threat, when they know they’re caught. This kid defied the laws of human intelligence. Sorry, sad as it seems, he wrote his own ending.
Driving a stolen car, carrying an illegal firearm (come on, you know it is), refusing to comply with law enforcement officer, gets shot because of these things… and, as always, the cop is the bad guy.
Disobey an officer and pay with your life. Is this writing on any page of the rule book. The officer be put behind bars, he did nothing to calm the act he was looking for a gunfight, his record shows he was unfit why wasn’t he let go before he was allowed to take a life.
You are truly a “dumas”
He tried to drive over an officer, his 4000 lb. vehicle was a deadly weapon, he deserved every round he absorbed.
The driver had a gun dumb ass, that’s all the reason he needed!!!!!!! Wake up!!!
This only thing I agree with here is that this officer is unfit. Reprimanded 10 times since 2013, come on that’s a little too much and he becomes a liability for the department with that record. The actual shooting may be justified, but because of this cops record that is in question. Wake up people we live in a police state, look up what a police state is and see how we fit. As far as the criminal, it’s hard to feel sympathy for a car thief carrying a firearm illegally because this basically shows he’s willing to shoot someone to get away with stealing their car
Typical punkass commentator
“officer why did you fire 15 rounds into the car?” Answer: “Because I didn’t have 16.”
This no need to breath air drug dealer, pimp, and all around felon got exactly what he was asking for. Little Rock police knew this person as a violent felon and he was awaiting trial on drug charges that was going to send him away for along time. This officer and any other has every right to take appropriate action when dealing with such a person especially on a felony stop.
The officer knew exactly what he was doing moving towards the front of the vehicle, as he knew if he fired across the vehicle the female inside might have been hit. Thats called thinking and training working.
There really should be no need for any investigation on this righteous shooting, you have a habitual felon thug most likely armed refusing to comply and its all on video, there should be no questions to ask.
I say give the officer a medal for his valor, actually any officer who can deal with the problems of little rock needs to get a medal.
Thanks for showing us you are nothing but a racist POS punk ass. Why can’t these criminals understand that they need to comply with the Officer’s directives especially since they know they are driving a stolen vehicle and they are armed. Well, one more low-life criminal off the streets.
I did not watch the video. Not needed. It has been proven time and again that failing to comply with a lawful order from a police officer is unhealthy. Is it proof of manhood to not comply? Does it give you street creds? Is this a black thing? All it proves to me is the individual has an IQ of 20 or less! And it doesn’t matter if the officer is a “cracker”. A black,indian, chinese, or purple officer will shoot you just as dead. I have no compassion for those that choose the life of crime and if chosen to serve on the officer’s jury, the family that allowed this pos to become what he was, will not get one cent. And as far as white officers being cowards, any person that leaves their family each day with no guarantee of returning, cannot be a coward.
You sir are an idiot and a racist. Using terms like cracker just proves how absolutely ignorant you are. Imagine a white person typing the ‘N’ word that many times in a comment… you sound like a pedantic child throwing a temper tantrum about not getting his way.
Like it or not, at the very moment when ANY LEO “lights you up”, you cease to be In Charge! You DO NOT have to like it, or even to agree with his/her reasons for the stop. All your insults do nothing to further improved relations between LEO’s and the Public. Make your point, fine, but do so in a respectable manner, or it could be YOU who some day is on the receiving end. Your choice.
This all started with Obama. Since his time as president car chases has increased dramatically and he has taught criminals not to comply with law enforcement. This is his legacy and we need to overcome. They may not always be right but they are all we have between us and these thugs. Respect that.
Grand theft auto, unlike the video game, is NOT a misdemeanor, dumbmass.
Maybe he needs a genius like you to teach him.
Officer’s actions fully justified from observation of this video. Thus avoiding a possible high speed chase that would harm innocent citizens.
As soon as you lead with “punk ass cracker cop”, you take the racist stance.
What’s not said in this article – was the car actually stolen, did the subject actually have a gun in his possession?
Until you put on a vest and a badge and go to work – where the 2 primary things you want to do is: A – your job & B – get home safe after your shift – then you have no right to judge like this.
OTOH – your opening statement shows so much anti-cop/white bias – one has to assume that you’re probably black and a criminal.
Rather than risk letting the guy drive away, doing a high speed chase and putting the public at risk – he chose to use deadly force.
If he had let the guy drive away – and he ran down one of your children in the chase – would you be any happier?
Driving a stolen vehicle, has a gun, refuses to comply, and the cop is in the wrong?!?!? So the cop is supposed to stand aside, let the criminal drive past him, possibly shoot the cop in the face as he drives past, then go on his merry way? Bullshit!!!
The guy was in a stolen car. He got caught. He was willing to drive through the cop to get away. What kind of moron can’t see how that is going to end. No, the cop shouldn’t just let him drive away only to end in a high speed chase and hurt somebody else. The guy died because he’s an idiot. Why are you stealing? Get a job and work for what you got like everybody else. And don’t tell me that you can’t get a job in this economy, jobs are everywhere right now. That pathetic piece of s@*t got what he deserved. He actually asked for death by cop. Probably the first time in his life he was successful at something. Good for him. Congratulations….
Why did he have to shoot him 15 times?
Because he didn’t have a 17 rnd mag.
These thugs act like it’s a game, refusing a direct order of a police officer is not going to end well if you are a criminal. The only reason I can see that you would not follow a lawful order of a police officer is if you were in the wrong and trying to hide that fact from the officer. Is a stolen car worth for your life? I am glad to see the officer get out with only minor injuries.
Amen, well said
Clearly this cop shot this guy for not complying with his demands. Since when is that punishable by death. This is a bad cop, not one to judge cops by.
Waah another one bites the dirt
Not clear at all that the cop shot the felon just because he didn’t comply with his lawfully issued commands. Admittedly, the officer’s disciplinary history is troubling; sounds like, after this situation is resolved, he would be well advised to pursue another career path, one that isn’t high stress or in which guns are tools of the trade.
Most troubling however, is the felon’s history of bad behavior. It was only a matter of time before he was destined to be involved in a life-taking situation. It’s sad any time someone dies needlessly but I’m glad that the person to die in this incident was the one who was the greater threat to innocent people. Hopefully others will learn from hus lifestyle choices and NOT emulate them!
I’ve been a cop for over 35 years. That officer should be prosecuted for murder. He was so obvisiously looking for any reason to use deadly force. Furthermore, whomever allowed that person to become a cop should be fired from their job so as to ensure others like this officer never see a day in uniform. This is a perfect example of why many of us police officers struggle with a negative public perspective.
BS flag on the play Al Brown. You sir are also a first class idiot. If you spent 35 years of being a cop then you would know to not make a judgment based on the clip you are seeing. Maybe you were never the victim of Monday morning quarterbacking because you never did anything valuable during your 35 year career. Your statement has mid level command officer of small town department written all over it. If something was done wrong it will come out in the investigation what we don’t need as cowards like you throwing a brother under the bus. Sit back and enjoy your pension and be grateful you never had to make a decision of any consequence in your 35 year career. Know that it is cowards like you that actually make the job tough not hunting criminals.
I seriously doubt you were ever a cup with a comment like that, but if you were I hope someone from your department reads your comments and throws you a blanket party for being such a spineless A$$.
Day after day watching videos like this and reading comments like that, I’m slowly starting to understand why Democrat’s are so in favor of abortions.
You are a cup for 35 years and I am Santa Claus. If you were a cop you were one of the worthless ones, you know the guy, he sits three blocks away from the call until somebody else says they’re on scene And always gets lost or drives just slow enough to never be the first one to a hot call.
Give me one valid reason why you think he was just looking to use deadly force? He ordered the driver multiple times to step out of the vehicle and announced that he saw a gun yet this aspect continued to try to flee. If you were going to sit there and tell me that you would’ve let that guy go you are a waste of humanity. Maybe you forgot why society has police officers, or more likely you never knew.
Driving a stolen car is not a capital offense, having a handgun in your possession well driving a stolen car at a police officer is. Let me guess, you feel like you’re an attorney because you’ve watched a lot of episodes of Law and order?
As for being on a power trip, I would say he looked more nervous than anything. He certainly did not come off as the guy who just wanted to shoot somebody after ordering that POS to get out of the car 15 times in a row only to have him drive towards him.
Thats how the police should handle problem people.Excessive force is necessory to keep peace and keep officers from being shot.The cop never should have been in front of the vehicle.
I really didn’t need to watch it, as I already knew what I’d see, as it is so typical. I knew I’d see a suspect refusing to comply with the lawful orders of a police officer. The assault with a deadly weapon was just icing on the cake. I’m glad the officer was not hurt and the criminal died. We are given multiple chances in this society to make something good out of ourselves, but some flatly refuse to make the attempt, and I’m glad they are removed from it. Especially when it is from their very own actions.
The officer gave the criminal many chances to comply. the criminal got what he was asking for. DEATH
Roger that!!