Dallas Cop Disarms Armed Suspect Without Shooting at Him

via Dallas Morning News

Good police work from a Dallas cop on his way in to his job, via The Dallas Morning News:

The suspect was fighting with two clerks at the store in the 1600 block of Storey Lane. [Officer Richard] Stewart heard the man tell the clerks that he was going to shoot them. The clerks had chased the suspect after he allegedly stole Tequila.

Stewart tried to intervene. He said he pushed the gun downward and struggled with the suspect for about five minutes.

At one point, the suspect pointed his revolver at Stewart. The officer said he managed to lodge his finger between the trigger guard and the trigger, preventing the suspect from firing. Stewart said the man still tried to shoot him in the head. Eventually, Stewart also used his hand to release the revolver's cylinder and empty out the bullets.

Stewart, who has three children, one of whom was born in October, said he didn't have time to be afraid of what might happen.

"I was thinking, 'I'm not going to die today,'" Stewart said.

And that thought didn't lead him to empty his clip, reload, and empty his clip again. Stewart said when he first saw the fight he really didn't want to intervene but thought he should when it appeared to be a robbery.

Happy Holidays.

Comments

[Almanian!]

Didn't shoot the perp? Man - these guys need some retraining, stat!

[gaoxiaen]

He should be SUSPENDED WITH PAY.

[Bones]

Um, fighting with an armed robber who is trying to kill someone is actually a defensible use of police force. I get the sentiment, but it's maybe not the best evidence for it given the circumstances.

[Ed]

I agree. You have the right to shoot someone dead who is pointing a gun at you or trying to use it against you. Yet this guy's not me or you. He's a professional, so didn't he have to even though he had the right. So what's it say about those professionals who do shoot when they don't have to? Who feel "threatened" by rolled up boxers and wallets and power drills and whatever else?

[Aresen]

Actually, I think it is the best possible evidence that "grab your gun and blow the sucker away" is NOT a professional response, but a coward's response.

Props to Officer Stewart. Too bad he won't get a paid vacation for this.

[tommytomhan]

And had he died handling it like this you would have never heard of this guy.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I'm thinking Richard is the apparently rare off-duty policeman who leaves his service weapon at work.

[LarryA]

Not necessarily.
1. If someone pulls a revolver on you at contact range you can usually grab his gun faster than you can draw yours.
2. Contrary to the silver screen, shooting someone with your handgun usually does not immediately render him incapable of pulling a revolver's trigger.

In such cases two hands on his gun may be better than a finger on your trigger.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

A "real" hero. Well done Officer Stewart. You are a credit to your profession and a shining example of true bravery.

[GILMORE]

Uh, maybe he's just a cop who did his job normally like many others do every day.

I'm not sure we need to treat every cop who fails to engage in race-murder as Walking on Water at this point.

The very headline of Ed's post seems to suggest that a 'police officer not shooting someone who was armed' is rare and exceptional.

Its consciously trying to perpetuate a hysterical narrative by pretending that victimless acts of policing are somehow 'special' and 'noteworthy' rather than the other way around.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Fair nuff.

Mr. Stewart, thank you for correctly performing your duties.

[Ed]

That's not my intent. It's a Catch 22. I write about it, I'm trying to make it seem like a rarity. I don't write about it, I'm trying to marginalize it.

I thought this was an important story to highlight, as did, naturally, the DPD, whose Twitter account I first found this through. I don't think they tweeted it out to perpetuate any hysterical narratives do you?

[GILMORE]

"I don't think they tweeted it out to perpetuate any hysterical narratives do you?"

No, but I'd think police-PR departments sure do feel like they've got their job cut out for them at present.

I wasn't picking on you personally so much as the general media atmosphere which is grappling with the Narrative/Counternarrative and is now far more likely to go out of their way to highlight otherwise 'banal' policing in effort to counter the "Police-as-Trigger-Happy-Racists"-thing that seems to be in vogue.

[GILMORE]

that said =

"I don't think they tweeted it out to perpetuate any hysterical narratives do you?"

I meant more that the police departments currently feel compelled to highlight stories of 'nonviolent resolution' to counter completely overblown and dubious statistics like "Blacks are 21 times more likely to be killed by cops" that become widely circulated and generally unquestioned.

[GILMORE]

FYI = *Both CNN and NY Daily News ran pieces this December looking specifically at this ginned-up data point and how its been used (*just like the '1-in-4 women raped' meme) by the media to help create perceptions of extreme racial bias in policing.

aka - the aforementioned 'hysterical narrative'

[MoreFreedom]

It's important to acknowledge and reward those government employees of ours who do a good job such as Officer Stewart. He was driving by the liquor store on the way to work in plain clothes and went in with an armed robber there. He very possibly saved the clerks' lives and risked his own life.

Equally important is getting rid of police who abuse their position, as well as politicians who don't discipline abusive police.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

So, I'm guessing we won't be hearing from the Dunphster for a while, after R C Dean beat the living fuck out of him the other day. Everybody see this? Pretty fucking humiliating for Mr BOOYA!

Ima save this one for use at a later date.

[sarcasmic]

I saw that. I'm not sure how humiliating it was though. For something to be humiliating a person needs to be capable of shame. You need a conscience for that.

[Pope Jimbo]

Agreed, if Dunphy can't be shamed into walking back his assertion that answering the door at 3 am while holding a gun is an automatic - and deserved - death sentence then there is no way you can shame him into admitting he was wrong about being suspended with pay.

[sarcasmic]

He keeps making the argument that answering the door to uniformed police officers while armed deserves a justified death sentence, yet totally ignores the fact that in that particular instance the cops were not in uniform.

[BuSab Agent]

That was a there but by the grace of god moment for me, because I HAVE opened the door at 3 am to a uniformed police officer while holding a gun. Fortunately, it was a sheriff and not a town cop and he had enough situational awareness to realize that knocking on the door in the middle of the night out in the country might cause the occupant to be wary. He politely waited for me to put the shotgun down, and then I stepped outside for a chat.
DIL had slipped on ice and her car had ended up in a ditch--too late to get a tow guy out--so she caught a ride home and retrieved the car the next morning. Meanwhile sheriff found abandoned car in ditch and wanted to know what was up. Quick chat and all cleared. No killing needed. Sheriff came to me because the car is still registered to my address because the DMV's computer doesn't think their apartment is a real place and won't register it as such.

[juris imprudent]

Interesting question - cytotoxic or dunphy - which one least realizes what a colossal ass he is?

[sarcasmic]

Bo.

[BuSab Agent]

Dunphy. Cyto knows he's an ass, but he thinks that makes him cool.

[Redmanfms]

Cyto is a psychopath. It isn't so much that he's an ass, it's that he has no moral compass at all and cannot differentiate right and wrong.

Dumpster 2.0 is a troll account created, IMHO, by Tulpa.

Bo-Bo and Ken are probably the least self-aware jackasses currently frequenting HnR.

[Careless]

dunphy is a troll account named after a non-troll, so presumably he's self-aware.

[The Other Kevin]

This was in my town.
Cop shoots man in hand as he attempts to commit suicide.

[GILMORE]

That's pretty "Lethal Weapon"

I hope the chief pulled him aside and gave him the "You're a Loose Cannon!"-speech afterward...

...and the cop threw his toothpick in the chief's face and said, "Merry Christmas" as an electric guitar played his 'rebel motif' in the background.

[Pope Jimbo]

It didn't say he shot him in the gun hand. Could be the other hand for all we know.

Given the fact that they were tasering and hitting him at the time, I'm going to guess the rest of the cops weren't too impressed by his marksmanship.

[The Laconic]

But what did he say when he threw the toothpick?!? Something pithy, no doubt.

[EDG reppin' LBC]

"I'm gettin' too old for this shit..."

[GILMORE]

"...just trying to 'lend a hand'..."

[straffinrun]

The guy got shot in the hand? Must've been petting his dog at the time.

[tommytomhan]

Now that made me laugh.

[straffinrun]

"I was thinking, 'I'm not going to die today,'" Stewart said.

Amazing how that doesn't have to mean, "So I'm gonna choke, stomp, beat, shoot you to death." Hug your kids Stewart. Well earned.

[Billy Boogers]

And to me, this marks the difference between a "Peace Officer" and a "Law Enforcement Officer".

[sarcasmic]

Yep.

[Smilin' Joe Fission]

This is what I hope more police to actually be.

[The Laconic]

The TOTALITY OF CIRCS says: well done.

[The artist known Dunphy]

Excellent

And quite common, just rarely reported. Most agencies won't even bothervtonissue press release in such cases, which grinds my gears

As general principle, if it bleeds it leads and this stuff don't bleed

Cops shoot man w/knife gun etc - story

Cops disarm man w/knife gun - almost never story

Btw media continues the racist double standard vis a vis cops!

Poll data proves the American public loves and respects cops nurses teachers and firefighters and does not respect car salesman lawyers and journalists this is part of the reason why

Yahoo headline - police officer kills armed black man...

First Line of Reuters story: (Reuters) - A white policeman shot dead a black man brandishing a gun at a suburban St. Louis gasoline station overnight, police said on Wednesday, igniting violence

You will recall the Reuters/yahoo stuff - Armed black man shoots Asian and Chinese police officers...

Lol

I a pretty sure POLICE did not say 'a WHITE officer...shot a BLACK MAN...'

But it was the first question on press lips

'Was the cop white? What color was the guy?'

Derp derp

WE ARE WINNING

History arcs towards Justice

Love, Justice and truth will win

And we ARE winning

To paraphrase Ice T since clearly cop unions are a bad as the Crips derp derp

'Police unions will never die, only multiply... COPS!!!!!'

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas

If it's got happy kids, beaming wimmins (with muscles), guitars, race car parts, and computer games

It's good!!!!

[sarcasmic]

Lay off the morning Mimosas. Seriously.

[gaoxiaen]

The only acceptable breakfast beverage is tequila. It's healthy because of the limes.

[Francisco d'Anconia]

How can you even show your face here?

Aren't you suspended with pay?

Your credibility is now on par with Tulpa's. Sarc nailed it. To have humility, you first need a conscience.

[tarran]

Shit, he's been caught in so many lies that his credibility is sharing a grave with his honor.

[Azathoth!!]

You know, if two or three stories like this were cited along with every cop fuckup maybe it would make it easier to show that the fucked up cops ARE fucked up--and that they need to be prosecuted.

These guys did it right--why didn't this guy do it right? Know what I mean? Show that there are cops who understand what policing is supposed to be to contrast them with the badged thugs that pollute way too many police forces.

That might generate more action than the 'all cops are thugs' vibe that pervades, both said and unsaid, a lot of the discussion when these things come up.

[MP]

Bravery or Stupidity?

I'm not clear if the commentariat here is really expecting that, once a perp shows a gun, that the law should not counter with a demonstration of lethal force. This doesn't mean "shoot to kill immediately on sight of a weapon", but at the very least a cop is well within his rights to threaten lethal force.

I'd be pissed if I was his family.

[tommytomhan]

I think the officer put himself in grave danger by choosing to fight a armed criminal. Sometimes lethal force is the better decision.

[PRX]

what is going on with Dallas PD? they arrested an officer for sexual assault last week. they put up a database of their officer involved shootings.

[GILMORE]

Rising Property-Values?

The "We're Not Like Racist St.Louis, NY" thing certainly can't hurt.

[Cytotoxic]

I heard their chief not only fires cops, but announces it on Twitter. Dallas PD = bizarre anomaly

[AlmightyJB]

I'd have shot the fucker.

[Cytotoxic]

Me too.

[tommytomhan]

Me too, creep was not worth dying for.

[Cytotoxic]

We found it. We finally found The Good Cop.

[JeremyR]

You realize this only worked because the guy had a revolver? You couldn't do this if he had a semi-automatic.

(Also, magazine, not clip)

[AD-RtR/OS!]

Are Dallas PD cops armed with Mauser Broomhandles?
That's the first pistol I think of that uses "clips".

But seriously, this guy had a good day's work, just going to work.
Now, the question is: What color was the perp?
And, did he not shoot him because of a tremendous sense of restraint (because the perp was non-white), or "professional courtesy" if he was white?

[userve32]

Wow, The Good Lord was looking our for him that day no doubt!

http://www.AnonWayz.tk

[woodNfish]

There truly are hero cops out there. Officer Stewart is a rarity. Good on him!

[Rich K]

So he basically got really lucky. He should have shot him. Anyone here who carries think it's smart to try and lodge your finger in the trigger guard to stop an armed person trying to shoot you?

"At one point, the suspect pointed his revolver at Stewart. The officer said he managed to lodge his finger between the trigger guard and the trigger, preventing the suspect from firing. Stewart said the man still tried to shoot him in the head. "

[Praveen R.]

I wouldn't advise this for every cop. Still, there is a middle ground. And what is lacking in a lot of cops is problem solving skills. Buy some time if you are that scared of your life and you are 90% sure that the other guy is about to shoot you dead. Retreat or position yourself in an area where you can take cover. Try your best to deescalate a situation in case the suspect is just mentally ill. Cops these days use tasers in situations where a mere good choice of words and a good physical restraint using your own physical skills would suffice and they use guns when a taser would suffice.

[Reverend Draco]

Well done, Officer.

[RCJP]

Had this ended with the cop shot dead, Ed would not have even noticed.

[RCJP]

Had this ended with the cop shot dead, Ed would not have even noticed.

[RCJP]

Problem is, it doesn't always work out that way: http://www.odmp.org/officer/20.....t-brownlee

[Ed]

I lived in NJ almost my whole life and now I live in Philly. The only exposure I have to guns is getting to shoot a law enforcement friend's Glock at a law enforcement and friends only gun range in NJ.

I've heard this complaint before. What would have been the correct thing to say here instead? Thanks!

[SweatingGin]

Well, I'll take the bait.

Magazine... Magazine... MAGAZINE!

M1 Garand is about the only firearm in common use that uses clips. En Bloc clip

Although stripper-clips are available for most military-style rifles (which hold a number of rounds on a rail, that you can push into a magazine in one motion.

/pedant

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Don't worry about it Ed. Clip is perfectly acceptable. It's technically incorrect, but only uppity dickheads would call you on it. I've been hunting since the age of 12, and it's always been a clip. I was 30 years old before some asshole corrected me.

*Francisco tosses bait/hook/bobber into the pond*

[Ed]

Thanks

[sarcasmic]

At least he didn't call it a bandolier.

[Pope Jimbo]

I'm with Fd'A on this one.

The first time I got corrected was in boot camp. Of course they yelled at you for using the word "gun" too.

All the yokel hunters I grew up were OK with calling it a clip.

[Scarecrow Repair]

I agree; only worry warts who want to be bitches sweat this level. It's like frothing at the mouth when some landlubber calls the back of the boat the "back" instead of "stern".

[SweatingGin]

... as an uppity dickhead...

[Francisco d'Anconia]

😉

[Pope Jimbo]

OK, OK.

What is the official holiday greeting that we need to use when interacting with an uppity dickhead?

[antisocial-ist]

" What is the official holiday greeting that we need to use when interacting with an uppity dickhead?"

I'm gonna go with "hey Bo"

[AD-RtR/OS!]

Merry Christmas Richard!

[GILMORE]

I think the clip/magazine issue is highlighted and harped upon simply because its the single most common example of widespread lack of accuracy in reporting on firearms.

Meaning = the media feels compelled to correct and edit and proof all sorts of details regarding stories, but if they wildly mischaracterize anything regarding firearms? Its shrugged off since, 'everyone is ignorant' apparently.

I doubt they'd treat car-accidents quite the same way. "He had a wheel-stop failure!" No, 'brakes' actually. "Whatever, same thing!"

I've seen stories mentioning a "Large caliber rifle" when it was .22LR. The recent NYPD shooter's was apparently made of Silver (cops could be werewolves, never know), and hollow-point rounds have been described as everything from "Cop Killer" bullets to 'armor penetrating' (?!) to 'exploding', yadda yadda yadda.

The Clip/Magazine issue is not even about the Clip/Magazine issue. Its just the perennial iconic example of lazy journalism when it comes to guns.

[tarran]

It's like frothing at the mouth when some landlubber calls the back of the boat the "back" instead of "stern".

No it's not!!! Those are two very different things! I'll bet you guys think a bed and a rack are the same thing too! Pig ignorant dirt-stompers!

[Combaticus]

I reject your premise. Using proper terminology doesn't make me uppity or bitchy or whatever. On the other hand, refusing to use proper terminology puts you on the level of my 7-year-old. Language is a tool. Use it properly.

[GILMORE]

(cue jimi hendrix)

[juris imprudent]

[stands and applauds]

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Yep, that's a bed alright.

[Scarecrow Repair]

I spent three years on a big ole boat which flew aeroplanes on and off and never once got see-ill. So there!