The officer “had no chance at all” to pull his handgun and “was completely helpless,” Scott said, noting the encounter was recorded by the police car’s dashcam.
“Make no mistake: We believe during this investigation that Ballwin officer was ambushed, period,” St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said.
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Scott said the officer was in critical but stable condition, and “fighting for his life” at a hospital in Creve Coeur, west of St. Louis.
After the shooting, Belmar said, the suspect sped away before an officer from another police department spotted the car about 4 miles away. The suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot before being arrested about five minutes later, Belmar said.
Antonio Taylor, a 31-year-old black man who was paroled in 2015 after serving time on a federal weapons charge, was charged with assault of a police officer, armed criminal action and a felon in possession of a firearm, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch said Friday.
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McCulloch said there’s no evidence of any dispute between Taylor and the white officer, a nine-year veteran before the gunfire. Scott said he “can’t even begin to speculate” about a motive, including whether the shooting had racial overtones.