Dashcam Video Released Of Valley Brook Police Shooting; Suspect Arrested

On Tuesday, the Valley Book Chief of Police released dashcam video of the moments preceding, during and after a traffic stop where one of his officers was shot in the leg.

That officer, Brian Southerland, underwent surgery Tuesday morning and is expected to make a full recovery. A GoFundMe page has been created to help with medical costs.

Through social media and several tips, officers tracked down the driver accused of shooting Southerland and now Cory Lee Hartsell, 27, is in the Oklahoma County Jail on $500,000 bond; accused of Shooting with Intent to Kill and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

The dashcam shows four different angles from both inside and outside the officer's cruiser and it starts with Southerland on another traffic stop unrelated to the shooting. It then shows the moments he spots a truck driving erratically towards him with a headlight out, continually clipping the curb.

That's when Southerland gets into his car and initiates a stop of the wayward truck driver. Moments later the officer is shot at as he tries to approach the pickup.

“It’s hard to determine which round struck the officer,” said Police Chief Michael Stamp. “But you see the officer kind of fall over the front of the vehicle and you see the vehicle take off.”

Stamp says Southerland was hit in the leg and several people stopped to help him, including an Oklahoma County Deputy who rushed to the scene and used a tourniquet kit to stop the bleeding.        

“It’s been said to us by the doctors that the tourniquet kit ultimately saved the officer's life,” said Stamp.

Late Monday night, officers with multiple agencies tracked down the driver, now identified as Hartsell, and arrested him during a traffic stop. He is a convicted felon and known gang member with lengthy criminal background and police confirm he did have an outstanding warrant out for his arrest.

“If this person is willing to take a shot at a police officer and almost kill him just because he has a warrant imagine, what else he's capable of?” asked OKC Police Capt. Paco Balderrama. “We're just very happy that we got a dangerous person off the streets.”

The arrest warrant states Hartsell made a Facebook video call to the owner of the truck he was driving and asked him not to call the police. The owner of the truck did not give Hartsell permission to drive the truck and did not know him, but one of his friends did and helped police identify him.

Hartsell is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.