‘I felt like I was gonna see somebody get shot’: Video shows altercation between officers and man believed to be involved in high-speed chase

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) - Video shows an alleged confrontation before a driver led police officers on a chase through a small beach town in North Carolina.

The video shows officers pulling their guns with the driver daring officers to shoot him moments before. Neighbors said the driver is 39-year-old Briggs Smith.

According to the Carolina Beach Police Department, officers responded to a reckless driving call near Canal Drive at around 6:45 p.m. on Monday.

“During the pursuit, the driver attempted to hit a police vehicle head-on. At one point, the driver briefly stopped, refused to get out of the vehicle, began fleeing again and struck a Carolina Beach Police vehicle. The pursuit continued towards Snow’s Cut Bridge and Carolina Beach Police Officers terminated the chase for public safety purposes,” according to authorities.

The woman who recorded the video of the chase said it was scary and felt like a moment straight out of a movie.

“It was like, ‘Get out of the car with your hands up’ and now they have their weapons pulled,” she said.

Smith is now in jail, accused of leading officers on a high-speed chase.

“Lots of argument going on and it was just crazy,” the woman said.

Marina McGee also witnessed the incident and said she had never seen anything like it.

“That was my first time ever like watching a high-speed chase with the cops,” she said.

Smith, who is wanted in Pennsylvania, now faces 20 charges in North Carolina.

The woman who took the video of the incident said they are relieved to know he is in custody.

“We all want to know what happened and we want to make sure our police officers are safe that no bystanders were hurt and that the suspect was arrested in custody,” she said.

Police said to keep other drivers on the road safe, they dropped the chase after the driver crossed Snow’s Cut Bridge into Wilmington.

New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office deputies saw the vehicle traveling on Carolina Beach Road and then Wilmington Police Department officers took Smith into custody by 8:30 p.m. after he allegedly assaulted the officers and resisted arrest.

He is being held without bond pending extradition and additional bond for local charges.

“I felt like I was gonna see somebody get shot. I have never seen anything like it anywhere except for on TV, movies stuff,” the woman said.

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