OHP Training That Ended Michael Vance Shootout Videos INSIDE

NOV 2 2016

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The dashcam video released by Oklahoma Highway Patrol made thousands awe at Trooper Brian Costanza’s skills. Authorities say it’s part of tactical team training to shoot through windshields under scenario’s like the Michael Vance shootout.

“He was engaging through his windshield,” said Captain Brent Sugg, “The first set of rounds were to create a spot in the windshield so rounds could continue to penetrate to reach Vance.”

Sugg referred to an older case where another trooper had to use the same technique when a felon tried to kill him.

Trooper Brian Costanza, a 14-year veteran of the patrol, was the first officer in pursuit of Vance.

OHP Chief Rick Adams said, “This man had every intention of taking the officers with him.”

Going into the chase, Adams said they had a feeling it would end violently. The 38-year-old fugitive already killed two family members and shot five people, including three law enforcement officers.

“We have every reason to believe at this point in time that deadly force is authorized if we cannot bring him down peacefully,” said Chief Adams.

The dashcam video shows Vance shooting at Trooper Costanza. This all started during the high-speed chase. Costanza took no risk and shot through the windshield as the tailed the fugitive down the country road.

Vance eventually got out of the stolen truck, emptying two 30-round magazines before five OHP troopers fired their weapons to end his life.

Costanza carries himself with a natural confidence that belies his belief in constant self-assessment and preparation. He trains daily, eats well, and studies case law that deals with lethal force, which is what he and his colleagues on the tactical team were discussing the day before they ended Vance’s life.

“As we’re talking around this deal, that was one of the things we were talking about,” Costanza said as he patrolled Okmulgee on a crisp January afternoon. “I know I’ve got a double murderer in front of me who at that time had already shot two cops and an innocent civilian at a carjacking, is it reasonable to believe that if I let him get away that he’s going to leave and hurt more people?”

Costanza left Okmulgee sometime after 9 p.m. on the night of October 30, hoping to be far enough west to provide assistance if Vance was spotted. Vance shot and wounded Dewey County Sheriff Clay Sander that evening, and Costanza soon found himself leading the chase.

After Costanza fired a hole through his windshield, he carefully squeezed off several rounds, which can be seen in night vision footage captured from a helicopter, bursting off the headache rack of Vance’s stolen farm truck.

“After the very first round, I said to myself ‘It’s really loud in here.’ It was absolutely deafening. I kept firing, and it was just ringing and I couldn’t even understand what was going on (over) the radio.”

Later that evening, his ears still filled with a piercing ring, Costanza would notice that the heat from his rifle had melted his dashboard. That, coupled with the 11 bullet holes Vance left in Costanza’s Tahoe, would cause the department to decommission the patrol unit.

Vance was nearing another roadblock ahead, and Costanza was focused on ending the threat.

“When I started shooting I was hoping I was going to kill him,” he said. “That was my full intention. I want to end him right this second, because if I don’t, if I can’t get him to stop, then he’s going to go down the road and he’s going to have the ability to engage my partners at this next roadblock and there’s a high probability one of them is going to have serious bodily injury or death.”

After stopping and letting the farm truck slowly idle in reverse, Vance stood in front of the truck as it crept toward a line of officers and fired his AK-47.

“I wanted to get out of this vehicle, because it was a coffin,” Costanza said.

Costanza stepped out of his patrol unit, and he and his colleagues opened fire. Vance’s figure can be seen in the helicopter’s footage hitting the pavement.

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