Good job to his beat-partners. Without them, he'd be dead.
Police training saved Wichita officer's life
By Stan Finger
The Wichita Eagle
WICHITA, Kan. — If it hadn't been for the quick work of three police officers, authorities said Monday, Wichita law enforcement officials would be adding another name to its list of fallen heroes.
"We're extremely, extremely fortunate that we didn't have an officer killed in the line of duty" late Friday night in west Wichita, Chief Norman Williams said.
The officer, shot once in each leg, underwent surgery upon his arrival at Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis Campus. He remains in intensive care and will need additional surgery, police said.
"He's extremely grateful" to the officers who rendered aid, the emergency medical service workers and the hospital staff, said Capt. Joe Dessenberger, commander of the Patrol West Bureau, where the officer is stationed.
The suspect shot himself a few blocks away only minutes after the shooting and died later at St. Francis, Williams said. Authorities are trying to confirm his identity.
"Why did he shoot him? We have no idea," Williams said.
The officer, a three-year veteran of the force, was investigating a complaint of a suspicious person in the 500 block of South Richmond, near Maple and Meridian, at 11:20 p.m. Friday.
Unable to see anyone matching the description given by the caller, the officer notified dispatch that he was returning to regular patrol after 10 minutes of searching, Williams said.
But as he drove east on Maple at about 11:30 p.m., the officer spotted a man walking on the north side of the street who resembled the description given, Williams said.
The officer turned around, pulled over next to the north curb in the 2400 block of Maple and spoke to the man as he walked to the back of his patrol car.
The suspect pulled out a large-caliber handgun and fired twice from a distance of perhaps 10 to 15 feet, hitting the officer once in each leg.
The officer fired back three or four times, Williams said, but missed the suspect, who fled north into a residential area. Not realizing he was wounded, the officer ran after him but was unable to apprehend him.
He began feeling woozy as he worked his way back to his patrol car in the darkness and radioed dispatch that he had been wounded and needed medical attention.
Three officers arrived within moments and noticed he had a lot of blood on his uniform -- especially on his right leg.
Officers laid him down behind his patrol car, tied a tourniquet around his right leg and gave other first aid until an ambulance arrived.
At the hospital, emergency workers discovered the bullet had hit the femoral artery in his right leg.
"We're just really blessed that the officers weren't tied up on calls," Williams said. "That timely response and the subsequent medical treatment that the officers gave made the difference between life and death."
Authorities also praised residents who tipped police off to the suspect's location. He tried to hide next to a red car in the front yard of a house in the 2800 block of Maple, and then shot himself as officers closed in.
The suspect died at St. Francis shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday. He has an extensive criminal history, Williams said, but because he has used three different names in the past, police want to confirm his identity before releasing it to the public.
It's the second time this year that a Wichita police officer has been shot in the line of duty. An officer working a part-time security job was hit in the chest by a bullet on March 25 as he patrolled the downtown campus of the Wichita Area Technical College. He was not injured, and no suspects have been arrested in the case.
It has been eight years since a Wichita police officer died in the line of duty. Lt. Jack Galvin died on Nov. 4, 2000, two weeks after he was injured in an explosion at the bomb range.
It has been 28 years since an officer was shot to death. Officer Paul Garofalo was killed by a shotgun blast on Nov. 9, 1980, after he stopped to question two women on the street in the 1000 block of East Ninth Street.
Williams said the latest shooting incident reinforced the importance of training: The officer was able to maintain his composure and provide a description of the suspect and his location, and the responding officers were able to provide life-saving medical aid quickly.
The case also is an example of a point stressed from the earliest days of the training academy:
"There is no such thing as a routine call," Williams said.
Copyright 2008 The Wichita Eagle
Thank God the officer is alive.I am gald the scum that shot him is dead. He saved the taxpayers the expense of a trial.
ReplyDeleteThanks have to go to the fast response of his brother officers as well as their smart thinking to stop the bleeding. I like those kind of ending.
ReplyDelete