CORRECTION: In a previous version, we mistakenly used the wrong last name for the officer who fired the gun in the video. We regret the error.
Police have released body-worn camera footage of a suspect and officers shooting at each other on Tuesday morning.
The Tampa Police Department said at 10:30 a.m., Detective Amy Jones and Corporal Kaitlyn Ford were responding to an unrelated offense at the Azula North Apartment complex on East Busch Boulevard when they saw Matt Fowler, 23, checking the doors and door handles of nearby homes.
Jones and Ford directed their attention to Fowler and went to engage him to investigate what he was doing. In the footage, the officers direct Fowler to "put his hands on his head," and as he starts to move, an officer grabs his arm.
This leads to an altercation between the two, and an officer shouts, "he's got a gun." Fowler then fired the gun at Ford, who quickly returned fire. Neither was hit.
According to TPD, Fowler has a "violent history" and was just released from prison around a year ago for violent offenses. He was taken into custody and is facing numerous charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and two counts of resisting an officer with violence.
"I felt like it was really strong-arm robbery."
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