NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans police released body camera video of an exchange of gunfire between officers and a man in the St. Roch neighborhood.
The shooting happened near Music Street and St. Claude Avenue around 11 p.m., on November 6.
It started out as a medical call of an armed man, passed out in a car in a turning lane on nearby Franklin Avenue and quickly escalated from there.
As police arrived, Dante Frazier, 42, suddenly woke up and hit the gas.
Video shows him pulling into a gas station.
That’s when police say Frazier grabbed his assault-style weapon and took off with Officer Rukeene Jones in pursuit.
The video shows an exchange of gunfire during the chase in the 1100 block of Music Street.
At one point, Frazier appears to point his gun at the police.
Officer Jason Adams also fired his service weapon.
“When you look at this video, you could see these officers, mainly, they’re discharging when they see that there is an opportunity to shoot,” NOPD Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said.
Police found and arrested Frazier near Music and Marais Streets about 15 minutes after the shooting ended.
He was hiding out under Sheila Duvernay’s home.
“It was very scary, very, very scary, just to know that he was under there,” Duvernay said. “We heard him jump the fence. Then we heard him under the house. That’s how we knew somebody was there.”
According to the NOPD, officers fired 16 shots and Frazier fired at least 9 times.
Police say Frazier shot himself in the foot during the encounter.
The chief says he’s happy his officers were able to get out of the situation safely.
“I’m very proud of the professionalism that they showed that they displayed and the patience and empathy they exhibited while arresting this individual and ensuring that still received the proper medical attention that was needed,” Ferguson said.
Frazier was booked with two counts of aggravated battery on a police officer.
Eyewitness investigator Mike Perlstein reports, Frazier was arrested in St. Bernard Parish just last month.
He was booked with possession of heroin and fentanyl, resisting arrest by flight and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Frazier pleaded guilty to the possession with the intent to distribute charge and got a 5-year suspended sentence with 2-years of probation.
All that happened prior to the incident with the NOPD.