A Floridian with a concealed carry permit shot a man attacking a police officer in the Sunshine State. The officer had stopped a driver for extreme speeding. One witness said the vehicle was traveling on the shoulder past full lanes of slow moving traffic at 120 mph. The chase and shooting occured at about 9 a.m. in Fort Myers.
After both cars were stopped, the suspect jumped the officer and managed to get on top, beating the officer severely. From winknews.com
Bardes and the suspect exited their vehicles at the Corkscrew Road exit and a fight started, sources said. The suspect was armed, Bardes told his supervisors, according to sources.
The passerby, who had a Concealed Weapons License, exited his vehicle and told the suspect he’d shoot him if he didn’t stop beating the deputy, sources said.
After noncompliance from the suspect, the passerby shot the suspect three times, sources said. The suspect later died.
Here is a bit more information from a witness at the scene. From leoaffairs.com:
Another woman wrote: “I watched the suspect jump out of his car and run toward the officer and tackled him.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office told local news media that the deputy who was involved, 12-year veteran Deputy First Class Dean Bardes, is expected to be okay. The suspect who was fighting with the deputy was killed during the struggle and WINK is reporting that a passerby is the one who shot him.
“The passerby, who had a Concealed Weapons License, exited his vehicle and instructed the suspect to stop beating the deputy…after noncompliance from the suspect, the passerby shot the suspect three times,” sources said.
Though rare, incidents where legally armed citizens assist police are more common than permit carriers attacking law enforcement. Perhaps that’s why the police attitude toward permit carriers has improved considerably over the last 20 years. Experience has taught cops that Americans who carry legally are seldom a problem, and sometimes render assistance to endangered police officers.
Despite anti-gun rights antagonism from many if not most big city police chiefs, the average cops overwhelmingly favors the rights of legal firearm carriers. From policeone.com:
More than 91 percent of respondents support the concealed carry of firearms by civilians who have not been convicted of a felony and/or not been deemed psychologically/medically incapable.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. Link to Gun Watch