Bullet Tears Through Officers Hat During Close Call Shootout With Armed Suspect

This police video, shared by PoliceActivity, describes an incident in Fresno, California on December 7, 2025. An officer on patrol near West Clinton Avenue and Northwest Avenue contacted a man he recognized as a person on post-release community supervision. The man gave a false name, resisted detention, and drew a handgun, firing at the officer and knocking off his cap. Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who later armed himself and remained in a carport before surrendering to SWAT and negotiators about 1 hour and 20 minutes after the first shot. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident and had a gunshot wound. The video is presented for educational and informational purposes.

• Officer contacts a man recognized as under post-release community supervision who gave a false name
• Suspect resists detention and fires a handgun at the officer, striking his cap
• Officers fire their weapons as the suspect runs into a carport
• SWAT and crisis negotiators take over; suspect surrenders about 1 hour 20 minutes later

* (Disclaimer: The content in this video is intended for educational and informational purposes only) Fresno, California — On December 7, 2025, Fresno Police Officer #1 was patrolling in the area of West Clinton Avenue and Northwest Avenue when he observed two men standing in an alleyway near a warming fire. The officer recognized one of the men as 41-year-old Bradley Nicholson, who he knew to be on post-release community supervision. Officers #2 and #3 were arriving at the location in a patrol vehicle and stopped behind officer #1's patrol vehicle. Nicholson provided a false name of Jason instead of his true name, Bradley, when officer #1 contacted him. Nicholson resisted officer #1's attempt to detain him while claiming he was not on parole, but knew he was on post-release community supervision. Officer #1 warned Nicholson that if he failed to comply, a taser would be used. During the struggle with officer #1, Nicholson pulled a handgun. Officer #1 released Nicholson and backed away. Nicholson fired at officer #1, striking the ball cap he was wearing and knocking it off his head. Officer #1 felt the burning sensation of the bullet passing through his hair. Officer #1 discharged his service weapon and pursued Nicholson as he ran away. Seconds later, officer #2 yelled, "Freeze Police" and "Show Me Your Hands" and then discharged his service weapon as Nicholson ran into a carport while still armed with the handgun. Seconds later, officer #2 exited his vehicle and saw the suspect running westbound in the alley armed with a handgun. In a post incident statement, officer #2 said he witnessed officer #1's hat fly off his head and believed Nicholson had shot and possibly killed officer #1. Officer #2 yelled, "Freeze Police" and "Show Me Your Hands" and then discharged his service weapon as Nicholson ran behind several vehicles in a carport while still armed with the handgun. Officers attempted to deescalate and convince Nicholson to drop the weapon and surrender peacefully. Nicholson was not cooperative and was seen by officer #1 smoking methamphetamine from a pipe. Officer #1 could also see that Nicholson was injured. The Fresno Police Department SWAT team and crisis negotiations unit arrived to take over communications with Nicholson. Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes after Nicholson fired at officer #1, he dropped his firearm and surrendered. Nicholson was taken into custody without further incident. Nicholson had sustained a gunshot wound to his left cheek. He was transported to a hospital in critical but stable condition and survived his injury. Officer #1 received no physical injury after being shot at by the suspect. Nicholson was armed with a Lorcin .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun. No officers or uninvolved community members were injured during this incident. 🚨𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙�