Dallas police officer in stable condition after chase that turned into shooting, 5 in custody
DALLAS – A police officer is in stable condition after being shot while chasing an erratic driver.
It happened around 12:45 a.m. Thursday in the 3200 block of Easter Ave. in Dallas.
Police were working undercover when they saw a car driving erratically. Police followed the car when a suspect in the car fired at officers in the unmarked police vehicle. The gunfire went through the driver's side door, hitting an officer in the hip, police say.
The officer had surgery this morning and was out by 4 a.m. He remains in the hospital in stable condition. DPD says he is a 4-year veteran of the department and will not release his name.
"He is in great spirits and as I just tweeted out, the first question out of his mouth was 'Did we catch em?,' that's a warrior right there," said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
After a chase that included other police officers and a police helicopter, five suspects were arrested about seven miles away, near Hwy 67 and Chesterfield Drive.
Residents who live in the area are shaken up. They say they heard tires skidding and then gunshots in the middle of the night.
"We really don't know what happened we just heard really intense gunshots," said one resident who asked we not reveal her identity.
A nearby resident captured the shooting on a home camera.
"It sounded really close that's why we got really scared," said the woman.
Two of the suspects were taken to a local hospital – one for chest pain and one for non-life-threatening injuries.
Later Thursday morning, Dallas police arrested 17-year-old Jaheart Nickelberry. He has been charged with aggravated assault, evading arrest/detention-motor vehicle, aggravated robbery, and theft-more than $30,000 and less than $150,000.
Police have also arrested a 15-year-old girl and charged her with evading arrest/detention. Three other teens were released and have not been charged.
Police arrested the other suspect, a 17-year-old, on March 21.
Police say two guns were recovered. One gun was in the car and one was thrown out of the car.
CBS News Texas confirmed that none of the Dallas police officers fired their guns.