Officers showed 'calm under pressure' in dramatic caught-on-camera Trader Joe's shootout: Expert
Police were pursuing a gunman when the chase turned deadly at a Trader Joe's.
Police officers caught on video in a dramatic, deadly shootout with a gunman at a Trader Joe's this weekend showed "calm under pressure," according to one law enforcement expert.
Police Tuesday released body and dash camera video from the Saturday gunfight, which began when Gene Atkins allegedly shot his grandmother and a teenage girl, kidnapped the teenager and led police on a 15 minute chase, according to the Los Angeles Police Department
The body and dash video show officers in pursuit while Atkins allegedly fired his gun through the back window at the pursuing officers - who did not return fire at that time, police said.
Atkins then crashed outside a Trader Joe's and stormed the store, police said, and the dramatic video shows him firing at the officers.
That's when police are seen returning fire and Melyda Corado, a Trader Joe's employee fleeing the building, was fatally shot by an officer, police said.
Though it was a police bullet that ultimately struck the victim, ABC News contributor and former Dallas police chief David Brown said it appears police followed proper protocols when engaging with an armed and dangerous suspect in a public parking lot, where so many lives were on the line.
"Calm under pressure is easy to say but very hard to pull off when it's you getting shot at," Brown told ABC News via email.
"You don’t get a deadly force encounter like that on tape everyday," he said.
Brown said the video appears to show police using proper law enforcement techniques when dealing with a vehicle in pursuit.
"The awareness initially by the officer driving to say 'don’t shoot -- we are going to put more distance between us and the shooter' -- is exemplary."
Once the pursuit reached the grocery store parking lot, "There were so many innocent people around that could have been injured if officers had engaged in an all-out shootout," Brown said. "When they did exchange gunfire it appears it was under control and towards the suspect."
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said the officers are "devastated" that Corado, 27, died from their efforts to stop the gunman.
"I believe my officers' actions were taken to defend themselves and in direct response to the deadly threat," Moore said. "I believe it's what they needed to do in order to defend the people of Los Angeles."
"I am truly sorry," Moore said. "As a father, as an individual, it is unimaginable, the pain of the Corado family, and everyone that knew her. And we share that pain today."
Moore called it a "heartbreaking reminder" of the split-second decisions officers make every day.
The two officers involved were not named on Tuesday. They have been with the department for two years and six years.
Thirty-one counts were filed against Atkins, including murder, premeditated attempted murder and kidnapping.
Atkins, who was shot in the arm during the shootout, is set to appear in court on Tuesday.
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