NSB Police Officer Injured, Suspect Killed, After Traffic Stop Goes Bad

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UPDATE:  The Volusia Sheriff's Office is identifying the New Smyrna Beach Police officer who was shot as Ralph Hunnefeld. The suspect is identified as 25-year-old Matthew Thomas of Holly Hill. 

VSO has released the body cam video from the chase.

New Smyrna Beach, FL -  A New Smyrna Beach police officer is recovering in the hospital after being shot by a suspect after that suspect fled recklessly from a traffic stop. The suspect was killed when officers returned fire.

The traffic stop was attempted around 4 p.m. in Port Orange near the intersection of Nova Road and Spruce Creek Road. The driver of a green Lincoln sedan took off fleeing recklessly at high speed. Officers followed the car at a distance as it headed toward New Smyrna Beach on U.S. 1. The driver turned north on Turnbull Bay Road where a deputy deployed stop sticks and the car crashed outside a storage facility on Industrial Park Avenue. 

The suspect bailed from the car and started shooting, injuring one officer, before the suspect was shot and killed by return fire.

The shooting was captured on body camera and is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The officers and deputy involved have been temporarily placed on administrative leave, as is standard.

Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Mike Coffin will be holding a joint news conference at 11 a.m. today (November 22) for an update at the New Smyrna Beach Police Department.

New Smyrna Beach, officer involved shooting