Trooper Fatally Shoots Man At Traffic Stop

A trooper fatally shot a driver who started a fight with him during a traffic stop early Sunday, and police later found two guns with scratched-out serial numbers inside the car, authorities said.

The trooper had noticed a 2002 BMW 320i speeding on the southbound side of Interstate 91 at about 12:20 a.m. and pulled the car over on the side of the road in Chicopee, said state police spokesman David Procopio.

The driver, a 23-year-old Springfield man, became combative after the trooper asked for his license and registration and got into "physical altercation" with the officer, Procopio said in a news release.

The officer then fired his weapon, striking the man. His passenger, a 22-year-old woman, then fled in the car and crashed into a protective barrier soon after, he said.

The trooper and other responding officers administered first aid at the scene, and both the driver and passenger were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, according to the release.

The driver was pronounced dead. The woman was treated for a cut on her arm that Procopio said she apparently received while getting out of the car. He said it does not appear she was shot.

Police said they found .25-caliber handgun on the driver's seat of the BMW and a loaded .40-caliber handgun under the driver's seat. Both guns had obliterated serial numbers, police said.

The names of those involved were not released.

The trooper is assigned to the Springfield barracks and joined the department in 2012 after graduating from the police academy, Procopio said.

The trooper has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.