HP Police: Officers Shot Man in Custody After He Freed Himself, Fired Gun

Officers on leave after fatal officer-involved shooting in Highland Park

Highland Park police said two officers were placed on administrative leave after fatally shooting a man who allegedly fired a shot from the back of a patrol car on Tuesday.

Police said David Hartman, 32, somehow freed himself from handcuffs while in the patrol car and fired a handgun. The officers returned fire, striking Hartman.

Hartman later died at a Dallas hospital.

Police said the incident began after police received a 911 call at about 6:25 p.m. about a suspicious person on a motorcycle who was following a resident through town.

Two officers found a motorcycle matching the description parked in a shopping center at 3000 Mockingbird Lane. Officers tried to question Hartman when he returned to the motorcycle, but he fled, police said.

After a brief chase, they detained Hartman and placed him in the back of a patrol vehicle.

Police said Hartman freed himself and fired a small handgun he had in his possession, shattering the window of the car.

Police said Hartman had an outstanding warrant for previously fleeing another police agency. The motorcycle was reported stolen.

The two officers, seasoned veterans of the force, were not injured. They have been placed on administrative leave as per police procedure.

The investigation into the shooting has been handed over to the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

A witness showed NBC 5 where a bullet had hit the hood of his car.

"The policemen were firing real low," the witness said. "And so we didn't know what was happening, because the suspect had jumped out of the back seat of the car, and the policemen came around and started shooting."

An employee at Luke's Locker said he had a run-in with Hartman shortly before the shooting.Carter Latham said he found Hartman in the store's stockroom, trying on shoes.

When asked what he was doing back there, "He said, 'Well, they said come straight back. This is where the shoes are,'" Latham said.

Latham said he lost track of Hartman after escorting him to the store's sneaker section.

NBC 5's Omar Villafranca and Ray Villeda contributed to this report.

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