The attacks against America’s police officers continued once again on Thursday night.
Reports on Friday confirmed that on Thursday evening, an Ozark police officer was gunned down when responding to a call of a man in distress.
According to WDHN News, the wounded officer is in “touch and go” condition and is marked as critical.
Breaking News – An Ozark Police Officer was shot overnight. The suspect sustained fatal gunshot wounds. We’ll update you on the officer’s condition as soon as information is available.
Please keep this officer and his family in your thoughts and prayers! pic.twitter.com/U1I6QT0PxS
— Montgomery Police Department (@mpdmontgomery) December 13, 2019
Officials noted that the officer suffered multiple gunshots, including a gunshot wound to the head.
The Houston County Sheriff’s Office says that the officer was being dispatched to a suicide threat call at 9:52 PM. in the area of Briar Hills and College Street.
As officers arrived at the scene and attempted to make contact with the suspect, the person threatening suicide reportedly turned his .357 rifle and shot the officer three times.
As we heal here in North AL we have yet another AL LE Officer shot. Our hearts go out to the officers family and Chief Marlos Walker and the City Ozark~ Chief McMurray.https://t.co/1rJt8nRNuC
— Huntsville Police (@HsvPolice) December 13, 2019
A fellow officer returned fire, neutralizing the suspected shooter. The suspect was pronounced dead, though it was not clear if that was on site or if he died en route to the hospital.
The injured officer was rushed by Ozark EMS from the corner of Briar Hills and College Street to the Dale Medical Center.
According to reports, the officer was then moved to the Southeast Health facility while police officers escorted the ambulance through traffic.
He is currently listed in critical condition.
HAPPENING OVERNIGHT: Ozark police officer shot, taken to hospitalhttps://t.co/L0vEP2Ovoo pic.twitter.com/hkpEoO3HAl
— CBS 42 (@CBS_42) December 13, 2019
The officer in question has not yet been identified, as we want to ensure that their family was notified before the news spread across social media channels.
Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker has reportedly asked the State Bureau of investigation to take over the investigation.
Some outlets are reporting rumors that this was a ‘suicide by cop’ scenario, in which the suspect called officers out to the location before turning the weapon on responding police.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the wounded officer and everyone involved in the incident.
This situation is ongoing. Law Enforcement Today will continue to bring you updates as more information is released.
While the total number of officers lost this year is down from last year’s total of gunned-down police, that being 47, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, Robin Small from the organization still believes it’s still far too many:
“While we’re pleased to see the number of officer line-of-duty deaths has decreased so far this year, even one officer death is too many.”
According to Small, there’s no true form of patterns in these deaths. Some were shot down while responding to domestic altercations, some while responding to robberies, while others were targeted, ambushed and murdered. In a mere 50 weeks, we lost 38 brothers and sisters in law enforcement while they were enacting their duties.
These weren’t officers who were accidentally struck by ignorant motorists while performing traffic stops. These weren’t officers struggling with PTSD that took their own lives; these were police who were murdered by individuals who cops work to protect us from every day.
Listed below are the names and End of Watch dates of the brave officers who paid the ultimate price to continue holding the thin blue line.
Please take a moment to remember their names and say a prayer for their loved ones.
December 10 – Jersey City, New Jersey Police Detective Joseph Seals
December 7 – Houston, Texas Police Sgt. Christopher Brewster
December 6 – Huntsville, Alabama Police Agent Billy Fred Clardy III
November 23 – Lowndes County, Alabama Sheriff John Williams
November 20 – Detroit Police Officer Rasheen McClain
November 19 – Richmond County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office Investigator Cecil Ridley
November 7 – Dayton, Ohio Police Detective Jorge DelRio
October 23 – El Dorado, California Deputy Sheriff Brian Ishmael
September 27 – Harris County, Texas Deputy Sheriff Sandeep Dhaliwal
September 20 – Mandeville, Louisiana Police Captain Vincent “Vinny” Liberto, Jr.
September 16 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama Police Officer Dornell Cousette
August 24 – Texas Highway Patrol Officer Moises Sanchez
August 23 – Illinois State Police Trooper Nicholas Hopkins
August 12 – California Highway Patrol Officer Andre Moye
July 18 – Stone County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Michael Stephen
July 7 – Hall County, Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy Nicolas Dixon
June 25 – Fulton County, Illinois Deputy Sheriff Troy Chisum
June 23 – North County Police Cooperative, Missouri Officer Michael Langsdorf
June 20 – Mission, Texas Cpl. Jose Espericueta
June 19 – Sacramento, California Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan
May 19 – Auburn, Alabama Police Officer William Buechner
May 11 – Savannah, Georgia Police Officer Kelvin Ansari
May 5 – Biloxi, Mississippi Police Officer Robert McKeithen
May 4 – Mooresville, North Carolina Police Officer Jordan Harris Sheldon
April 13 – Cowlitz County, Washington Deputy Sheriff Justin DeRosier
March 24 – El Paso County, Texas Deputy Sheriff Peter Herrera
March 19 – Kittitas County, Washington Deputy Sheriff Ryan Thompson
March 7 – McHenry County, Illinois Deputy Sheriff Jacob Keltner
March 5 – Midland, Texas Police Officer Nathan Heidelberg
February 26 – Sullivan County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Hinkle
February 16 – Puerto Rico Police Agent Alfred Zanyet-Pẽrez
February 6 – Milwaukee Police Officer Matthew Rittner
February 4 – Virginia State Trooper Lucas B. Dowell
February 2 – Clermont County, Ohio Det. Bill Brewer
January 20 – Mobile, Alabama Police Officer Sean Tuder
January 13 – Birmingham, Alabama Police Sgt. Wytasha Carter
January 10 – Davis, California Police Officer Natalie Corona
January 5 – Provo, Utah Police Officer Joseph Shinners
May they rest in peace.
And what’s worse, these stories so often seem to go unreported and widely unnoticed by the national media.
In just the course of the last week, six active duty members of law enforcement were murdered in the line of duty.
Yet, how is it that we’re so divided between who supports police and who doesn’t that six heroes ripped from their families just two weeks before Christmas isn’t considered “newsworthy”?
Despite what the national media thinks… their lives mattered.
Help us honor them today.
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