Photo: Newport Police
Police in Newport, Rhode Island released body camera footage showing a deadly gunfight on board a sailboat suspected of being stolen from Jersey City, New Jersey, on Wednesday (August 26). Officers were investigating a 40-foot vessel reported stolen from Liberty Harbor Marina four days earlier.
The Newport harbormaster spotted the vessel anchored offshore with its name scraped off, prompting a call to police. Four police officers were ferried to the boat around 9 a.m. to investigate further.
Bodycam video shows officers approaching the boat and ordering the man on board, identified by police as Brendan Norris, to remain on deck. Instead, Norris ran into the cabin. The officers saw Norris rummaging inside before he fired a shot from the cabin, striking one officer in the leg and sending debris into his face.
The footage shows officers returning fire into the cabin, with one officer retreating to the harbormaster’s boat. Officers then entered the cabin, where they found Norris unresponsive with a gun nearby. Police said Norris had suffered a severe head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by all three sources.
The injured officer was transported to Newport Hospital for treatment and has since returned to work, according to the Newport Police Department. The officers involved have also resumed their duties.
Authorities have not announced further details about the investigation or whether any additional charges are expected.
You can watch the body camera footage released by the police below: