Seattle Police Footage Shows Patrol Car Fire, Officer's Gunshots

SEATTLE — Videos released by Seattle police Friday show the moment a man threw a burning piece of wood inside a patrol vehicle Thursday as the officer inside fires several rounds through his windshield. The Seattle Police Department released a minute-long compilation Friday afternoon, collected from body-worn cameras, dash camera footage and surveillance video.

Related: SPD: Seattle Police Vehicle Set On Fire, Man Arrested

(Warning: the video below contains some graphic content)

The clip begins with the officer, identified as Caleb Pomazon, driving through an alley near Denny Park and approaching a man walking with a burning piece of lumber. As the man makes his way to the alley and approaches the street, Pomazon opens his door and leans out, shouting at him to stop. The man turns around, shouts an expletive and keeps walking.

Pomazon continues driving down the alley to catch up with the man and shouts at him to stop a second time. At that point, the man quickly turns around and runs toward the patrol SUV with the burning wood and Pomazon's body camera captures it entering the vehicle.

Almost simultaneously, Pomazon begins firing gunshots at the man through his windshield, backing up his SUV as the man flees. At least seven shots can be heard on the video, including three while the suspect is seen running away. After the shooting stops, surveillance in the alleyway shows Pomazon falling out of his passenger side door as smoke pours out of the vehicle. He reports the shots fired to dispatch and the clip ends.

According to Seattle police, officers responding for backup chased the man with the lumber into a nearby parking garage, where they used a stun gun and placed him under arrest. Investigators said the suspect, a 37-year-old man, was not struck by the earlier gunfire.

The Seattle Police Department said Pomazon was placed on paid administrative leave, per standard procedure, pending the outcome of an investigation into his use of force. He has been employed at SPD for one year.

King County prosecutors file two assault charges

On Friday afternoon, the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office announced two assault charges against the man in the video, identified in court filings as Brian Leil. The first-degree assault charge relates to throwing the burning wood into the police SUV, while a second-degree assault charge relates to an earlier encounter nearby.

According to probable cause documents, Thursday's incident began at 1 p.m. when Leil came up to a man at Denny Park, called him a racial slur and began swinging a hammer at him. Police said bystanders jumped on Leil, subdued him and took the hammer before he left the area. The encounter with the police officer occurred about 30 minutes later.

The prosecutor's office said three previous felony cases have involved Leil from 2016 to 2018. On Friday, prosecutors asked the judge to set bail at $500,000.