A suspected luxury-boat thief was fatally shot by police during a tense confrontation in Rhode Island after authorities said he tried to evade officers.
Brendan Norris, 27, had been identified as a prime suspect in the reported theft, police said.
Investigators allege that Norris stole a 1968 Hinckley Bermuda 40 from New Jersey before anchoring the high-end sailboat at Newport Marina in Rhode Island, the New York Post reported.
Police located Norris aboard the vessel, which its owner had named Pathfinder, at about 9 a.m. on August 26 and quickly moved in to investigate.
Bodycam footage released by Chief Ryan Duffy shows Norris working above deck when he noticed the approaching officers.
According to police, he then ran inside the boat and attempted to conceal himself below deck.
An officer ordered him to remain on deck, but Norris did not comply. After the warning, gunfire erupted and Norris was killed.
The confrontation lasted about 19 seconds. Officials said one police officer was also injured.
Brendan Norris, 27, was a prime suspect after a luxury boat was stolen from New Jersey
Police spotted the stolen sailboat at Rhode Island’s Newport Marina and went to investigate
Norris exchanged gunfire with police during the confrontation and was fatally shot, authorities said
Police said Norris fired at least one shot after two officers boarded the boat.
The officer closest to Norris was struck in the leg and face by shrapnel.
“Shots fired, shots fired. One hit,” an officer can be heard saying over the radio in the bodycam video.
The officer later entered the cabin to check on Norris and found him dead. Police said Norris had been struck in the head.
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“I’ve got a suspect down. I have my eyes on him,” the officer said in the footage.
The injured officer was taken to hospital in stable condition but has not returned to duty, Duffy told WJAR.
“The party armed himself with a firearm and shots were fired,” Duffy said. “The suspect is deceased.”
Before the alleged boat theft, Norris was seen near Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City and captured on security cameras
Security footage allegedly showed him taking the rare sailboat, owned by Jim Bonomo, from its dock. Police said he also disabled the vessel’s transponder system
Pathfinder was allegedly stolen by Norris during a late-night heist at the Liberty Harbor Marina in Jersey City on August 22.
Jim Bonomo, the owner of the boat, said he arrived at the dock with his wife on August 23 and found that the boat he had for ten years was missing.
He then contacted the police while his wife spread the word on social media.
‘I literally pulled up to the gate, and looked at my dock, and was like, “Where’s the boat?”‘ Bonomo told the outlet.
The search for Norris began after he was captured roaming around the marina on surveillance cameras.
Police said the suspect allegedly disabled the transponder system that helps track the vessel after he took the boat from the dock.
Norris had also scraped off the name of the boat from the stern.
Bonomo said he did not know the suspect and found out about the accident through social media. He added that he did not understand why things unfolded this way.
‘I don’t understand why something like that would happen from just stealing a boat,’ he said. ‘It’s a tragic end. I’m really sorry that that’s how it ended.’