Dashcam video shows Spencer attacking officers

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Lafayette police released video and audio showing Paul Spencer attacking officers before he was gunned down last month.

All L.P.D officers were cleared of any wrongdoing by both a review board and the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor. Video from cameras mounted on the dashboard of the cruisers show what led up to their actions in the early morning hours of October 19.

As a warning some of the audio may be considered too intense for some viewers.

The camera on the dashboard reads 4:53 a.m. when Officer Jeff Webb spots the car driven by Paul Spencer, 39.

It all started with an Emergency 911 call minutes earlier.

"There's a fire," the caller told dispatch.  "Somebody jumped out of the window."

Later the operator asks what kind of car the suspect is driving.  

"A black Cadillac," the caller responded.

Light rain was falling in the early morning hours but Officer Webb reports road conditions are favorable.

Spencer headed back downtown where Officer Ron Dombkowski picks up the pursuit in front of the Tippecanoe County Courthouse.

As the pursuit continues, more and more officers are visible on side streets.

Spencer is wanted for questioning on the arson as well as battery on a woman.

"I tried to get her to walk back to you," the dispatch operator told the officers on the scene of the arson call.  "She is refusing.  She's scared for her life."

As Spencer heads south on 9th Street, away from downtown, speeds pick up to 60 m.p.h.

Spencer crashed into an embankment at 9th and Potomac.  His front tire still spins as he gets out and attacks Officer Dombkowski with a knife.

Spencer stabbed Officer Dombkowski in the face.  

Officers fired 10 shots. Seven shots hit Spencer.

Ten minutes later, emergency crews take Spencer to the hospital where he later dies.
    
As for the chase itself, from beginning to end, it was less than 7 minutes long.

A shooting review board cleared the officers earlier this month, finding that they were justified in using deadly force.