A police officer in Johnston, Rhode Island, shot a man who drove a car at him at a gas station late Saturday night.
According to WJAR, the shooting stemmed from an incident around 11:30 p.m,. Saturday, when Johnston police responded to a report of a disturbance at a Shell gas station on Hartford Avenue. A witness called 911 to say that there was an ongoing argument between a man and a woman.
Johnston police said the driver stepped on the gas as the officer approached the car, hitting the officer. The officer then fired multiple rounds at the driver.
The 28-year-old man who was shot was taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence and is expected to survive.
“I don’t think the cops had any right to shoot him,” the man’s father, David Peterson said. “I want to see this video. I want to see my son run over a cop because I know my son did not run over a cop. He wouldn’t do that.”
Peterson said his son has been arrested before, but recently had been doing better.
“He’s been working every day. He’s been trying his hardest,” Peterson said. “It’s just not right and not fair what they’re doing to him.”
The Johnston police officer suffered minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital for treatment.
The shooting is under investigation by Rhode Island State Police and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office.
