LAS VEGAS, NV – We first heard about this story not from the mainstream media… but by “activists” who sent it to Law Enforcement Today.
Why did they reach out? Because they are demanding the officers who took out an armed kidnapper be ‘arrested for murder’.
On August 10th, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call just after 9am about a man trying to set cars and trees on fire.
Upon their arrival, the man took off on foot and the pursuing officer could see a gun. As shots are exchanged between the two, the suspect entered a mobile home and take a woman hostage.
Officers entered the home and engaged the suspect, killing him. The woman was saved by the officers.
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LVMP Spokeswoman, Captain Nichole Splinter said:
“The suspect took off running, and an officer [whose body-cam was on during the chase] took off on foot pursuit of the individual,” later identified as Joshua Squires.
So far, there have been no releases explaining why Squires was attempting to set objects on fire or why he fled.
Credit LVMPD
Splinter continued:
“As he continued to pursue this individual, the suspect reached into his waistband and pulled out a black handgun and turned and pointed it at our officer.”
Splinter stated that the officer fired at Squires once, but they do not believe he was hit.
From the officer’s body camera, it clearly shows Squires armed with a handgun and pointing it at the officer who was chasing him prior to the gun shot.
Squires continued fleeing from officers despite their numerous lawful commands for him to stop and drop the gun. He was able to enter into a mobile home in the Storeyville Manufactured Home Community on Nellis Boulevard.
From there, Splinter advised:
“There were multiple subjects inside. All of them came out, except for a female who stated [Squires] would not allow her to leave. It appeared he was attempting to barricade inside of that mobile home.”
Officers on scene called out their SWAT and hostage negotiators team. Upon their arrival, negotiators tried to get Squires to surrender for more than two hours, all to no avail.
Perhaps fearing that Squires was becoming more erratic, SWAT leaders decided it would be safer for the victim inside for them to execute an entry.
Credit LVMPD
Splinter said SWAT entered into the residence “at which time they ended up confronting the still armed suspect. A SWAT officer opened fire [multiple times], striking the suspect, who then fell to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Thankfully, the hostage was located unharmed inside the residence.
The two officers involved in the incident have been identified as Raul Cabrera and Allyn Goodrich. Ofc. Cabrera has been with the agency since 2016 and is currently assigned to the Community Policing Division under the Northeast Area Command.
Ofc. Goodrich has been employed with the agency since 2007. He is currently a member of the SWAT team and assigned to the Homeland Security Division.
Both officers, as is standard protocol, have been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
All of the officers involved in this incident paint the complete picture of what the vast majority of police officers in this nation do every day, serve and protect.
From the first officer who willingly chased Squires on foot, knowing he had a gun, knowing that Squires could shoot and kill him, did not stop and continued the chase.
The SWAT element that was involved also should be lauded for making the tough, and this time seemingly right call, to breach the mobile home as they believed it was the best shot the victim had.
The SWAT officers who entered into the residence showed no fear as they entered and faced off with an armed gunman who clearly refused to drop the gun, until he had been shot by police.
Hero officer risks her own life to save man in a wheelchair stuck on railroad tracks
LODI, CA –Who says a cop is never around when you need one?
On August 12th, Lodi Police Officer Erika Urrea was patrolling her area when she observed a man in an electric chair stuck on the railroad tracks.
What was worse is that a train was on its way and the man could not move.
The officer, disregarding her own safety, jumped into action and pulled him free at the last literal second.
Lodi police officer rescues man in wheelchair from oncoming train in dramatic video https://t.co/JZU3ZYK2rK
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 13, 2020
The situation appeared to have lasted for a mere 40 seconds from the time Urrea spotted them man until the incident was over. Without thinking, Urrea jumped into action and ran from her patrol vehicle and grabbed hold of the man.
When it became clear that the chair would not be coming off of the railroad tracks ,Urrea grabbed hold of him and began pulling him off of the chair. The chair fell and it appears that urea lost her grip as she went backwards.
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As she attempted to reengage her grip, the train struck the man’s legs and she fell backwards. The man was taken to the hospital where he is being treated for the leg injury. Thankfully he is expected to recover.
Urrea told CBS News:
“To me, I didn’t think the train was still a ways away. But, as I got up to him, I grabbed on to him, I can see the train just approaching and it was going pretty fast. I just was like, I got to get him off of the tracks.”
Urrea recounted when she fell as the train swept by, she heard a noise which sounded like something was struck.
“When I fell to the ground and I heard the noise like the train had crashed into something, my initial thought was I didn’t get to him on time.”
Thankfully, she quickly realized that she had saved the man’s life.
“That’s when you start thinking, ‘Okay this could’ve happened and that could’ve happened,’ Just like I said, all of the different scenarios that go through your head just start pouring in,” Urrea said.
Thankfully for the man in this case, Urrea was there, and like the vast majority of police officers in this nation, ready to serve at a moments notice.
There was no time for Urrea to think of the possibilities or plan on how to save the man, only time enough to act, without giving her wellbeing any thought.
Acts like this occur throughout the United States on a daily basis, only, most of them are not noticed. It can be acts as simple as a police officer buying a kid he did not know a cookie in McDonalds, only to be killed immediately by a criminal who had driven up beside him at a traffic light.
Or officers protecting members of Black Lives Matter in Texas when a lone gunman went on a rampage to kill as many police officers as they could. One person from that scene recounted how officers laid on top of she and her children so they would be safe from the bullets he fired as she watched an officer shot in front of her.
You see, we in America are supposed to believe, at least since May of 2020, that police officers are all evil, vile, racist beings who only wish to do harm to people of color. Regardless of how many times facts have been thrown out by LET and other sources that completely debunks that claim, people still believe the lie.
However, police officers in the United States are always there when you need them, sometimes, in this man’s case, in times that you may not realize it. And, in this case, Urrea was there, willing, and able to save that man’s life. If she had not been on duty that day, it is doubtful that man would still be alive.
Hero Utah officer shots and kills man who was holding a hostage with a knife to his throat
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – It’s one of the more nerve wracking pieces of bodycam footage we’ve seen in years.
Salt Lake City Police Officers were dispatched on July 25th to a call about two people who were stealing from Smith’s Grocery Store at 455 S 500 East.
The information they were given is that two males had been inside the store stealing items, then began to fight each other out in the parking lot.
911 reports from the store indicated that one of the men was armed with a knife the size of a forearm.
As police arrived and tried to talk to the men, one of the suspects grabbed the other and held him by the throat.
After several commands to drop the knife were ignored and he became more agitated, fearing he would harm the other male, officers opened fire, killing the suspect.
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The man killed by police, Andrew Jacob Preece, was no stranger to law enforcement.
According to the Desert News, Preece had numerous felony and misdemeanor charges against him since 2005. Recently, after a charge of retail theft, he was ordered to attend a Mental Health Court Program and recently graduated.
Persons who are accepted into this program must first have their cases and mental health status reviewed by the state prosecutor’s office to see if they qualify.
Once that step is completed, they are referred by a therapist to Wasatch Mental Health. Those who qualify are given a case manager, a therapist and a medical doctor (if needed).
Treatment plans are made for a minimum of a year, but, the courts can adjust those dates if needed.
On July 25th, this graduate of the Mental Health Court, joined with another person and decided to steal items from the Smith’s Grocery Store. For some unknown reason, Preece and his accomplice began arguing and fighting in the store and parking lot.
An employee of the store who called 911 said that they believed that the pair was intoxicated and had a hard time walking straight.
They then said that they noticed that one of them had a knife on them and that they “keep turning around like they’re going to come back into the store, and they keep looking over here.”
As the officers arrived, they made contact with the pair as they were walking down a sidewalk (as seen on the officer’s body cameras). The first arriving officer’s camera clearly shows Preece holding a knife to the back of the man in front of him while holding onto the man.
The officer orders Preece to drop the knife and he refuses.
The officer then warns Preece to drop the knife or he will Tase him with his Taser.
“I will tase you, stop right there.”
Again, his orders were refused by Preece who continued walking with the knife to the man.
Preece momentarily stops and grabs hold of the man in front of him and holds a knife to his throat. The officer, now having Preece at gun point, tries to get him to drop the knife to no avail. The officer alerts a nearby female officer notifying her that Preece had a hostage.
The female officer, now seeing what is occurring, also gives several commands to Preece to drop the knife and again, Preece refuses. The female officer practically begs Preece to drop the knife, saying:
“Dude, it’s not worth it, I guarantee it dude, I promise you.”
Officers continued to try to get Preece to drop the knife and stop his advances. Preece repeatedly ignored all of their commands and continued to hold the man with a knife to his throat. Officers had a split second decision to make, hesitate and Preece could slit the man’s throat, or take action and ensure that the hostage lived.
Thankfully for the hostage, officers saw an opening and began to fire at Preece. Even when the first rounds initially struck Preece, he still refused to drop the knife or step away from the hostage.
Unfortunately, the officers had no choice but to continue firing in order to stop the threat and prevent the murder of the hostage.
The hostage was able to escape and officers immediately started life saving efforts on Preece. Unfortunately, their efforts failed and Preece died as a result of the shooting he caused.
Preece’s family was interviewed, and according to KSL-TV, they said:
“We feel that the actions taken in this altercation was unnecessary. Andrew was not in his right state of mind, but he never wanted to hurt anyone. He had a history with law enforcement but that doesn’t make him in any way less of a person.
This could have been prevented by taking a few extra minutes or hour to talk him down if that’s what it would take.
In our opinion it did not look like a hostage situation, rather Andrew leaning on his friend for support because it appeared that he was in some way hurt.”
Now, it is understandable that Preece’s family is in denial and is hurting. After all, everyone involved in this situation wanted a better outcome, especially the officers.
However, when it comes to that split second choice and ensuring officers can at least save one life as opposed to waiting for someone to take a life, the officer’s had no choice in the matter, they had to act.
The shooting, as all police officer involved shootings, will be reviewed by an outside investigator to determine if the shooting was lawful or not. Judging by the video, it certainly appears to be justified.
Active shooter on Kansas bridge gets taken out by hero soldier: “Saved countless lives.”
May 27, 2020 – LEAVENWORTH, KS – He’s being hailed a hero.
On Wednesday, a soldier from Fort Leavenworth stopped an active shooter on a bridge in Kansas – and he’s being credited with having “saved countless lives”.
It happened on the Centennial Bridge on Wednesday. The incident started around 11 a.m. local time after police got reports of shots fired on the bridge.
The bridge spans over the Missouri River and connects Leavenworth to Platte County, Missouri.
The Kansas City Star reported that according to witnesses, the shooter stopped his car about halfway along the bridge.
KMBC reports that he then began to open fire on random vehicles with both a pistol and a rifle.
“There was an active duty soldier assigned to Fort Leavenworth waiting in traffic behind the event who saw the event unfold and determined it was an active shooter,” Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens said to the local media.
“The soldier intervened by striking the shooter with his vehicle, causing him to be critically injured, ending the encounter with the active shooter and likely saving countless lives.”
According to KCTV, there was a second active-duty soldier from Fort Leavenworth who was shot and seriously injured – in addition to a civilian being hurt in a crash on the bridge that happened during the incident.
KCTV reported that both victims are in serious but stable condition at the hospital.
Chief Kitchens said that although they don’t know what caused the shooter to open fire, they do know he was a Platte County resident.
“There doesn’t appear to be a target,” the chief told reporters. “The person was simply, randomly firing at vehicles as they passed by.”
We have not yet received word who the gunman, the victims or the soldier who stopped him were.
It’s the second such hero story we’ve reported this week.
The first was out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
At about 7:00 p.m. on May 25th, police in Fort Lauderdale were alerted to an active shooter situation taking place on the fourth floor of an apartment building within the Victoria Park neighborhood. The suspect was said to be firing from the apartment building down onto the street near 14th Avenue and Sixth Street.
#DEVELOPING: Police have stopped an active shooter at an apartment building in Fort Lauderdale after, officials said, the gunman fired in the direction of people from a balcony. He was taken to the hospital with an injury that is not life-threatening. https://t.co/6XMAlJCN5w
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) May 26, 2020
Luckily, one well-placed shot by a responding officer stopped the threat.
The yet-to-be identified suspect was shot by a Fort Lauderdale Police officer in the stomach reportedly, after numerous calls came in that a gunman was firing a weapon toward the street from an elevated position.
Police Chief Rick Maglione stated that the officer involved was flagged down near the scene at around the same time calls were coming in about the active situation:
“We were simultaneously receiving calls into 911 that someone was firing a gun about the same time that we got flagged down.”
While the suspect was firing down upon the street, a Hertz delivery van was said to have been hit multiple times. Aside from the damaged van, there was no reported injury stemming from the suspect’s gunfire.
Jacob Lapp, a local resident in the area where the scene played out, spoke about what he witnessed while the events were unfolding:
“I just heard a pop, came outside, and then all of a sudden the cop car turned around the corner. I saw the flashes inside, came out and cops screamed at us to get into the house.”
Fort Lauderdale police say one of its officers was forced to fire at a man who was shooting at other people from the balcony of his apartment. @FLPD411https://t.co/8fBfwTHy4B
— CBS4 Miami (@CBSMiami) May 26, 2020
Chief Maglione remarked on the marksmanship of the officer that fired at the suspect that evening, noting that it only took one single shot from the officer for the suspect to be hit:
“We shot one time, up from the ground to the fourth floor.”
Overall, the chief was glad that there weren’t any fatalities that resulted from the incident:
“The officers’ response was quick, and thankfully, no innocent bystanders, no police officers were injured, and hopefully, the subject makes a full recovery as well.”
The suspect was said to have been transferred over to the Broward Health Medical Center. His wound was described as being non-life-threatening.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is handling the investigation at this point, and there’s been no mention yet of what pending charges the suspect may be facing in this matter.
Law Enforcement Today has recently obtained updates regarding the active shooter situation that was neutralized earlier in May at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas.
On May 21st, an “Arab male” showed up to the Naval Air Station gate and started shooting.
A Navy security team killed the man. The FBI took over the investigation at the time, and initially didn’t release any further details released regarding the man’s identity.
However, two law enforcement sources tied to the investigation have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Adam Alsahli. Officials say that he was a Syrian born man that eventually became a resident within the United States. The preliminary investigation suggests that the shooter may have been a supporter of the Salafi-jihadist ideology.
One female NSF police officer sailor was injured in the shooting.
In a statement, the Navy said:
“The sailor is in good condition and is expected to be released later today.”
#BREAKING Active shooter reported at Naval Air Station Corpus Christihttps://t.co/ix6yZGxq1m
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) May 21, 2020
The sailor was reportedly wearing a protective vest, which saved her from worse injury.
Investigators believe they may have located several social media accounts that were once controlled by the now-deceased Alsahli. Some of the postings present within these accounts showed support towards the likes of ISIS and Qaeda.
The U.S. Navy is investigating after a shooter was ‘neutralized’ at Naval Air Station – Corpus Christi. pic.twitter.com/IfLYXq9jK3
— KBTX News (@KBTXNews) May 21, 2020
USNI news reported:
“Naval Air Station Corpus Christi is home to the four squadrons of Training Air Wing Four, which uses Truax Field on base and outlying airfields. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and foreign student pilots train at the base.
“Naval Air Station Corpus Christi also houses the Corpus Christi Army Depot which serves as the primary maintenance depot for Department of Defense rotary-wing aircraft. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service also operates from Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.”
The FBI is investigating the shooting Thursday morning at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi that forced the Texas base to lock down and left a female sailor injured, according to Navy officials. https://t.co/YR9Il8ENyQ
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) May 21, 2020
The FBI noted that once more information is gathered and substantiated, then they’ll release that information to the public.
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