Police officers have a difficult job, to begin with, let alone the way society has shaped the public perception of them lately. They place their lives on the line every single day for anything as seemingly small as handing out a speeding ticket to investigating suspicious tip-offs.
It is astonishing that they can get out of bed every day knowing today might change everything.
In this case, an unusual yet positive change came one officer’s way. A particular individual on this day apparently did not take his chill pill. As he is being written up for having bad tags on his truck, he makes the snap decision that he doesn’t want the ticket he is about to receive.
Deputy Wesley Blum was writing up the drivers information when he looked up to see the man jump out of his vehicle and run off.
The only thing the suspect has over Deputy Blum is size. Clearly, he wasn’t going to get very far, but he had his mind set not to go somewhere he didn’t want to. In the video provided by Blum’s body camera, we see him discharge his taser at the man. Unfortunately, running through weeds proves to be a disruption for such maneuvers.
When the man can no longer run away, he slows down. The officer catches up to him and tries to subdue him with his baton. You can’t say he didn’t deserve it at this point. Common sense would tell you not to run unless you have a good reason.
Anyways the baton does little to dampen the fugitives spirits except to make him repeat “Why’d you hit me?” over and over again like a broken record. He just doesn’t feel up to cooperating today it seems.
This is the moment the Good Samaritan of our story comes into the picture. Shawn Kelly casually drove down the street and happened upon the scuttle between Deputy Blum and the large suspect. He doesn’t get his phone out and film nor does he sit there analyzing the situation trying to figure out the smart thing to do.
Instead, he exits his truck, strolls over to the two men, and immediately uses his own large stature to subdue the culprit. With Kelly’s help, the officer is able to make the arrest.
Police departments around the country have varying stances on citizen assistance, if you feel you must step in, use common sense in such situations. Try to ask him/her if they need your help and, if so, how would they like you to assist.
Many thanks to the citizen who stopped to help when he saw this deputy dealing with a fleeing suspect. Always good to know our people have our deputies' backs!This stemmed from a traffic stop in which a deputy determined the pickup's tag was assigned to a different vehicle. The passenger in this video was ultimately charged with resisting arrest with violence. The female driver was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance (Tramadol) and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Posted by Volusia County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, July 13, 2017
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