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Dash Cam Video Shows Dramatic Police Chase That Ended With Fatal Shooting In NJ Community

BLOOMINGDALE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- New video from a police-involved shooting in New Jersey shows us what the officer saw in the moments leading up to the fatal gunshots.

A Riverdale police officer's dash cam was rolling while he chased a shoplifting suspect back on Jan. 23. It picks up as he follows the suspect. You can hear him say they're going 80 mph.

Then the suspect peels off onto a side road. A postman waves the officer in the right direction, but it's a dead end and the suspect barrels back towards the cop, narrowly missing him.

Several units join the lengthy chase as they funnel into a small residential street.

Video from a nearby home shows the suspect's last-ditch effort to get away, slamming into a cruiser. That's when he was fatally shot.

The suspect came speeding down Matthews into a cul-de-sac, where he was cornered. He then did a loop around a front yard. That's when he clipped the officer's car. Seconds later, shots rang out.

Fourteen shots can be heard, and the man, who police say took off after shoplifting from a Home Depot, was dead.

Mike Reynolds rents the home that became the backdrop for the wild scene.

"I got a call from my landlord. He said did you see what's going on in our driveway," he said.

But he wasn't home when it happened and hoped watching the video would provide some clarity.

"The guy made a really foolish decision to run from police. I don't know why he would do that, it cost him his life," resident John Lindemulder said.

It is still unclear whether the suspect pulled a weapon of his own.

The New Jersey Attorney General's office is investigating to find out just what happened.

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