Wanted man shot dead after injuring 2 officers at Taipei checkpoint

Taipei, June 6 (CNA) A wanted man was shot and killed by police early Friday after he tried to force his way through a traffic stop and injured two officers, the Taipei City Police Department said.

In a press release, the Daan Precinct said the incident occurred at a traffic stop on a ramp connecting Jianguo Expressway to Xinhai Road on Friday morning.

Police stopped a white sedan driven by a 36-year-old man surnamed Tsai (蔡), after an officer, surnamed Cheng (鄭), who was staffing the checkpoint discovered Tsai was wanted.

Police said Tsai suddenly accelerated, dragging the officer hanging from the car window. The vehicle then hit a guardrail on the expressway before Tsai attempted to make a U-turn in a bid to escape.

Three officers drew their guns to stop him, police said. The car only stopped after officers fired 12 rounds in total.

Police found Tsai with gunshot wounds to his abdomen and under one armpit. They called an ambulance, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Another officer was hit by the car when Tsai put his sedan in reverse to flee the stop. He, along with Cheng, were taken to the hospital, where the pair remain under evaluation.

Police said the case is under investigation and that officers were simply doing their duty when Tsai tried to flee the traffic stop, emphasizing that their use of firearms was fully within the law.

They added that illegal drugs were found on Tsai and inside his car.