Police body cameras film deadly US shootout

A teen has been shot dead after pulling out a weapon and starting a firefight with US police officers.

Malik Carey – a probation absconder - was killed in Michigan on May 3 after police tried to apprehend him.

Body cameras from three separate police officers showed Carey, 18, in the backseat of a car.

He has a conversation with one of the policemen about how he looks after his dreadlocked hair, when he suddenly reaches into his pants and pulls out a gun.

Carey shoots at least four times at the police before they return fire.

One of the officers manages to taser the 18-year-old, buying his fellow officers time to find cover.

Carey eventually jumps out of the car and runs across a front lawn before collapsing from his injuries.

The shooter was taken to hospital where he died later in the afternoon.

Prosecutor Chris Becker yesterday found the police officers were justified opening fire on Carey and acted in self-defence.

"They have a right to self-defence, they have a right to defend the other officers in the area, and they have a duty to protect the public at large from a person who sees fit to start shooting at officers who seek to place him under arrest," Becker said in his report.