California prosecutors have released shocking bodycam footage of the moment a police officer was shot twice, before his heroic partner shot the gunman in the head and killed him.
Matthew-Tuan Ahn Tran, 22, shot LA cop Mark Milward twice in August 2021. Milward was responding to a call from a woman allegedly being stalked by Tran.
The incident began at around 6.25pm, when a woman called 911 about a 1998 Toyota Camry tailgating her on 57 Freeway, following her no matter where she turned.
Dispatchers advised the woman to pull into the La Habra Police headquarters for safety, as Fox and Milward were sent out to the scene at 7.10pm.
‘What’s going on here?’ Milward [arriving at the scene] asked Tran after as she approached him. ‘I’m just seeing somebody right now,’ Tran responds.
Milward asks the 22-year-old if he has anything to do with the two cars parked outside the police HQ, belonging to the woman and her alleged stalker.
Tran says he does not, and when Milward tells him that he’ll be with him in a second, the suspect immediately taking out a handgun and firing at the officer and was made to fall hard, according to surveillance footage.
Tran fires twice, and one of the bullets pierces Milward’s body armor. He tumbles back in pain, dropping his own handgun before struggling to open his phone.
Milward’s fast-acting partner, Abigail Fox, immediately fires five shots at the gunman, striking him in the head, then rushes to Milward’s side.
Investigators ultimately determined that Fox was justified in using deadly force against Tran, who was revealed to have THC and methamphetamine in his system during the encounter, according to an autopsy report.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office had opened an investigation into the incident, which is required during any officer-related shooting, and found ‘no evidence of criminal culpability’ against Fox.
Milward, who joined the police department in 2019, was taken to hospital following the deadly shoot out, but was released the following week to cheers and applause for his quick recovery.
He and Fox have been touted as local heroes, with the latter praised for her quick action in taking down the gunman who shot her partner
The autopsy report, which was released in August, found that, of the five shots Fox fired, three hit Tran in the head, body and right thigh.
