WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. — A man pulled from a Palm Bay home by a SWAT team Tuesday night has been charged with attempted felony murder of a law enforcement officer in connection with a shooting incident in West Melbourne the night before.
The West Melbourne Police Department said a man who was speeding shot at an officer more than 10 times late Monday during an attempted traffic stop.
The shooting was reported shortly after 9:15 p.m. on Sylvan Drive near Sheridan Road, West Melbourne police Capt. Richard Cordeau said.
Watch dashboard camera footage of the shooting below:
Joseph Alan Bellinger was arrested at a home on District Street Southeast after members of the Palm Bay Police Department's SWAT team served a search warrant.
"The driver of the vehicle fired multiple rounds at our officer," Cordeau said. "Our officer backed off a little bit, gave some space and as he attempted to obtain the tag on the vehicle, the driver again fired multiple rounds at our officer."
Police said a dashboard camera captured footage of the shooting. Officer Joseph Jones didn't return fire, Cordeau said.
Watch footage of the scene below:
Police discovered the white 2016 Nissan Altima abandoned nearby on Lemon Grove Avenue.
A surveillance camera recorded a person running away from the car, police said.
"Sometimes we can't really understand or explain why these things happen, especially for such a minor offense," Cordeau said. "This is very unusual for this area. West Melbourne is a quiet area, especially Sylvan Drive."
Watch the suspect flee after shooting at the officer:
Bellinger's girlfriend owns the vehicle, but she is not living in Brevard County and police said they don’t believe she was in the Nissan at the time of the incident.
Police Chief Richard Wiley said Jones made the right move.
“Officer Jones is very technically sound," Wiley said. "He used a lot of precautionary measure by backing off the vehicle and not allowing the suspect to get a bead on him. He also did maintain radio control."
Police said they received a tip pointing to Bellinger's whereabouts and maintained surveillance on the residence for most of the day while they worked to get a search warrant.
Bellinger was also charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and discharging a firearm in public.
He was being held without bail at the Brevard County Jail.
Cox Media Group
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