An early morning traffic stop escalated to an officer involved shooting at the Ocean House II condominium complex on West Beach Boulevard.
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An early morning traffic stop escalated to an officer involved shooting at the Ocean House II condominium complex on West Beach Boulevard.
Around 4 a.m. on Sept. 9 a Gulf Shores police officer conducted a routine traffic stop for a speeding violation which led to the beginning stages of a DUI investigation.
The suspect fled the scene in his vehicle and drove east to the Ocean House II condominium complex and fled into the building. The officer located the suspect on the fifth floor by the elevator.
“At the time what I would describe as an attack occurred. The suspect attacked the officer and a fight ensued. A responding officer arrived and witnessed the suspect discharging a gun at the officer. The responding officer fired at the suspect,” said Gulf Shores police officer Woodruff during a news conference Sept. 9.
“The suspect then retreated further into the building into a stairwell where he encountered a second responding Gulf Shores police officer who fired at the suspect. The suspect proceeded to the eighth or ninth floor and officers lost contact with him. Officers dropped back to secure the perimeter and get residents and guests back to their units. The suspect went over the balcony on the eighth or ninth floor during this time,” Woodruff continued.
Lieutenant Rex Bishop with the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit said “the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit is investigating the officer-involved shooting. Once the investigation is complete it will be presented to a grand jury.”
Bishop released the name of the suspect during the news conference. The name of the deceased suspect is Russell Mallott and his driver’s license lists Sparks, Nevada, as his residence.
The three officers involved are on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
The Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit completed the crime scene investigation on the evening of Sept. 10. The Department of Forensic Sciences performed an autopsy on Russell Mallette on Sept. 10. The results of the autopsy show that Mallette sustained two gunshot wounds. Neither of the two gunshot wounds were life-threatening. The cause of death was blunt force trauma received from the fall.
The investigation is ongoing and includes reviewing video footage from witnesses as well as dash cameras and body cameras worn by the officers involved.
We will continue to follow this story and update it when new information becomes available.