A Buffalo Police officer fatally shot a man while clinging to the suspect’s car after he sped off with a 6-year-old child in the front seat during a traffic stop, according to heart-racing bodycam footage.
Officer Ronald Ammerman pulled over 25-year-old Dae’von Roberts just after midnight on Wednesday for driving at an excessive speed and having tinted windows, the Buffalo Police Department said.
Ammerman approached the driver’s side of the car and immediately noticed that a 6-year-old boy — who the suspect first identified as his “little cousin” and then seconds later “his nephew” — was sitting in the front seat and without a seatbelt.
The officer then asked Roberts to provide identification, to which he agreed.
The suspect, who told the officer he was from Georgia and was driving his sister’s vehicle, showed him an out-of-state ID on his phone and said it was fine because he gets pulled over “every day.”
However, upon looking up the ID, Ammerman found the photo of the ID to be invalid and that Roberts didn’t have a license in “either state.”
The officer then told Roberts they will do a different search for his name and showed Ammerman reaching into the car and opening the door.
Seconds after the door opened, Roberts slammed on the gas pedal and sped off with the officer holding onto the door frame for dear life.
“You’re gonna kill me, bro,” Ammerman can be heard repeatedly pleading as the car accelerates.
The officer begged the suspect to slow down and that he’ll “get out,” but Robert ignored him,
Roberts continued to drive erratically and appeared to kick Ammerman to push him off the car while the 6-year-old could be heard hysterically crying.
Ammerman pulled out his gun and fired several rounds into Roberts — who came tumbling out of the moving vehicle onto the officer.
Ammerman clutched onto the car for about 20 seconds before he shot Roberts, and the two fell into the street.
“Shots fired! There’s a kid in the car still. He tried killing me,” Ammerman shouted into his radio while rushing over to check on the child.
Upon reaching the vehicle, the officer immediately consoled the 6-year-old, who was unharmed.
Ammerman’s partner, Officer Jonathan Crawford’s bodycam was positioned on the passenger’s side of the suspect’s car, which showed the moment Roberts took off with his partner clinging onto the car.
Crawford then gets into his cruiser and reaches the suspect, lying motionless on the ground, before help arrives.
The suspect was then rushed by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Buffalo Police Department Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said in a press conference over the fatal shooting Thursday.
Ammerman was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries and was later released.
Upon requesting a search warrant for the car, which did not belong to the suspect, police say they found a loaded 9mm Taurus handgun under the driver’s seat.
“I believe that is a justified use of force that occurred the other night,” the Buffalo Police Commissioner said during the press conference.
“When you take into account the fact that the officer found himself in a grave risk of serious physical injury or death, the use of that level of force is justified by law, and I do believe that that is a justified use of force in this case.”
Ammerman, a seven-and-a-half-year department veteran, and Crawford have been placed on administrative leave per department policy.
“They’re gonna need time to process this,” Gramaglia said.
“This is real life, there’s not a lot of control the way some of these situations go down. We can train for various situations but when it happens in real life, when there are actual situations, they always happen differently than what they do in a training facility.”
Buffalo homicide detectives and the Internal Affairs Division are conducting separate investigations into the fatal shooting.
In April, Roberts was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree reckless endangerment, and third-degree criminal mischief during a memorial for his 12-year-old half-brother Jaylen Griffin, according to WIVB.
Roberts was held without bail until the charges were changed to first-degree attempted assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in June and was released under supervision.
Griffin’s body was found at a South Buffalo home in April after he went missing in August 2020, WIVB reported.
Roberts even mentioned the young boy to officers before the traffic stop went haywire.
“It’s a very sad situation all the way around. This family has been through a lot over the past several years,” Gramaglia said.
