Gunman shot himself and wasn't killed by officer, chief says

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A gunman who wounded a police officer in the leg after a brief car chase shot himself to death, the Albany police chief said Thursday, and was not killed by the officer’s returning fire as police initially implied.

Autopsy results showed that Amiel Layeni, 28, “died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Chief Eric Hawkins said at a news conference.

Police released some of a recording from Officer Jonathan Damphier’s body-worn camera, showing him breaking off a chase of a speeding car through a neighborhood. Damphier then spots the same car. As he approaches it, Layeni emerges from behind the car with his arm raised and pointed at the officer. Two loud bangs are heard. “Shots fired,” the officer shouts as he runs for cover.

The video shows only the first moments of the encounter, when the officer was wounded, and not the gunfire that followed. Hawkins said more than 10 shell casings were recovered at the scene.