It happened during the early morning hours of Jan. 12. Durham Police Department said Ahmmon Fishe, who was driving a stolen vehicle, was initially able to get away from officers. However, they eventually caught up to him while he was sleeping in the stolen car in the parking lot of Duke Manor Apartments.
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Officers woke him up and shouted at him to exit the vehicle.
Instead, Fishe cranked up the vehicle and backed it into a Durham police car before taking off forward, in the direction of multiple officers.
Two Durham police officers then opened fire on Fishe.
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District Attorney Satana Deberry said in a statement released Thursday that any reasonable officer in that situation would have believed Fishe posed a threat to other officers and bystanders. Therefore, the officers who shot at Fishe were within their legal right to do so.
"The evidence in this case, and Mr. Fishe's own account, shows that Mr. Fishe had previously eluded arrest by DPD in the same stolen vehicle in which he was found asleep. That when he was awakened, he further attempted to flee and elude arrest by driving away. Fishe and witnesses acknowledged that multiple officers were in danger of being struck by the vehicle if he had continued to try to flee. NC courts have consistently held that a motor vehicle is a deadly weapon for the purposes of establishing the use of deadly physical force," Deberry said.
Fishe was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He has since been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of stolen motor vehicle, and resist delay or obstruct.