Police have made an arrest in the shooting of a Valley Brook police officer during a New Year's Day traffic stop.

On Sunday evening around 5:30 p.m. Valley Brook Police Officer Brian Southerland pulled over a Chevy Avalanche on I-240 and Pole Road, just east of Eastern Avenue. Officer Southerland approached the vehicle and spoke with the driver, but as he returned to his police cruiser, the driver of the Avalanche began firing at him multiple times.

Southerland was struck in the leg, hitting the femoral artery and causing life-threatening bleeding. An Oklahoma County sheriff's deputy on the scene was able to apply a tourniquet to slow the bleeding, and Southerland was transported to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Another bullet struck a westbound vehicle's windshield, but fortunately, no one in that vehicle was injured.

The Avalanche sped off and was later found abandoned at a nearby Toys R Us, and the suspect was identified as Cory Lee Hartsell, 27.

Hartsell was arrested during a traffic stop the next evening. He is held in the Oklahoma County Jail on complaints of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm after prior felony conviction, shooting with intent to kill, trafficking in illegal drugs, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Hartsell has a criminal record spanning Oklahoma County, Washington Count, and McClain County. His prior convictions include grand larceny and grand larceny from a person, meth possession, copper stealing, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and possession of a stolen vehicle. He spent six months in prison in 2009, and spent just over two years in prison between March 2014 and August 2016.

If convicted, his next prison stint will likely be much longer. Assault and battery with a deadly weapon and shooting with intent to kill are each punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. They are "85 Percent Crimes," which means that any person convicted of either of these crimes must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Read more about 85 percent crimes here.
 
Image credit: Mika Jarvinen