TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Officers acted properly in shooting a man who refused to pull over for a traffic stop and later stepped out of an apartment to confront them with a rifle, Tuscaloosa's police chief said.
Eight officers were placed on leave following the shooting, including four who opened fire on the man, authorities said. He was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Chief Brent Blankley said that officers were forced to shoot early Wednesday.
"I am confident we responded appropriately," Blankley said at a news conference. "The officers handled themselves professionally and with the public's safety in mind while responding to a volatile and potentially critical situation. I'm grateful that our officers are safe, and that no one in the adjoining apartments were harmed."
The name of the 29-year-old man who was shot has not been released.
Capt. Jack Kennedy, commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, said police received a call about an unruly patron at a bar around 2 a.m., but the man was leaving when officers pulled up and refused to stop before driving into an apartment complex.
The man entered an apartment and officers heard two shots from inside, he said. With officers outside, the man opened the door and pointed an AR-15 rifle at an officers, Kennedy said, prompting police to shoot.