Posted on August 13, 2018

Dramatic Dashcam Video Shows Near-Fatal Shooting of Pennsylvania State Troopers in Lehigh Valley

WCAU-TV, August 9, 2018

When video from the dash camera of a state police vehicle was shown at the trial of Daniel Clary in June, the Northampton County, Pennsylvania, assistant district attorney said it “confirmed everything that the police said and every they did.”

A jury agreed after being shown the video that captured the violent encounter between Clary, 22, and two troopers on a fateful day in November 2017. Clary was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder for shooting Cpl. Seth Kelly and Trooper Ryan Seiple on Route 33 about 20 miles north of Bethlehem.

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Its release comes slightly more than a month since that emotional day in a courtroom June 27 as jurors watched the dashcam video of the gunfight.

Right: Cpl. Seth Kelly

Kelly, a 13-year veteran of the state police, was shot as he and Seiple made a roadside arrest. He may have saved his own life by applying a police-issued tourniquet on his wounded leg before paramedics arrived, according to officials.

In his testimony at the trial, Seiple said he initially pulled Clary over for speeding and became suspicious that he had been driving under the influence. Seiple then called for backup to conduct a field sobriety test and Kelly arrived at the scene.

In the video, Clary struggles to complete three sobriety tests. When Seiple tries to arrest him, he resists and reaches for Kelly’s holstered gun.

Both troopers tased Clary several times. In the video, Clary appears to be in pain and asks the officers to stop. Both officers punched Clary multiple times.

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The video then shows Clary breaking away from the troopers and grabbing a gun from his own car before firing several shots. The troopers returned fire.

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Clary, who was shot several times during the shootout, managed to drive himself to Easton Hospital. Seiple said he then rushed to save Kelly, who had been shot three times, once in an artery.

Seiple told the jury Kelly was bleeding out and screaming in pain though he had already managed to apply a tourniquet to his own leg. Another tourniquet was applied and they struggled to contain the bleeding. Kelly was eventually airlifted from the highway.

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