Moments after David Appleton shot Paul Thomas Pearson in a road-rage incident earlier this month, he was pleading with the 911 dispatcher.

"I've been attacked, and I had to use my weapon. Please get here fast," Appleton said in between heavy breathing. "Hurry, hurry, hurry."

Scottsdale police released the 911 tape Wednesday from the Nov. 10 shooting in which Appleton said he shot Pearson in a CVS/pharmacy parking lot near Pima and Pinnacle Peak roads.

More: Murder charge dropped

"A man came over, he attacked me. He was choking me. And I shot him. In the chest," Appleton told the dispatcher.

This week, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office dismissed a second-degree-murder charge against Appleton, saying they have requested more information from police.

"We are waiting for lab results for DNA testing and other evidence," said Sgt. Mark Clark, a Scottsdale police spokesman. Lab results should take a few weeks to be returned, Clark said.

Appleton's attorney said earlier this week that evidence will show that the shooting was a "justifiable use of force."

Appleton, 59, a criminal-defense attorney, told investigators that Pearson, 50, a Scottsdale business owner, approached Appleton's car after aggressively following him to the parking lot.

Appleton said Pearson began choking him, so Appleton, who had pulled his pistol from his glove box, shot Pearson in the chest.

According to court documents, police found no signs that Appleton was grabbed or choked, other than a torn fingernail.

Appleton was unable to explain why he didn't drive away when he saw Pearson approach his vehicle. When investigators asked why he didn't call police if he was in fear, Appleton "had no answer and said what he did was stupid," the records show.

On the 911 tape, Appleton said, "Oh, God. Why did you do this?" It is unclear who he is talking to.

Scottsdale police Wednesday also released 911 tapes of two other calls from earlier this year, in which Appleton called 911 to report road-rage incidents, and two police reports, from 2005 and 2008, in which Appleton called about aggressive drivers.

In a March call, Appleton told the 911 dispatcher, "He's getting out of his car, and I've got my weapon, and he's stopping here. I'm going to display my weapon right now because he's blocking traffic."

The dispatcher tells him, "I don't want you to do it." Appleton responds, "I'm going to do it because he's blocking traffic." Appleton told the dispatcher that the other driver drove away.