Suburban St. Louis Officer Shot During Traffic Stop
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ST LOUIS (AP) — Authorities say a driver shot and wounded a suburban St. Louis police officer during a traffic stop.
The shooting happened around 11:00 a.m. Friday in Ballwin.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar didn't disclose many details about the confrontation, including the race of the suspect or officer. He is expected to say more about the case later Friday.
He told KMOV-TV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis, that the officer took "a hard hit" and was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Belmar says after shooting the officer, the suspect sped off but was spotted by another officer and abandoned his car. That officer captured the suspect after a short chase on foot.
The shooting followed the previous night's attack in Dallas that killed five officers and wounded seven during a protest over the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and Minnesota. But Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott said he "can't even begin to speculate" about a motive.
The officer was walking to his car after the initial conversation with the motorist he stopped for speeding when that driver "advanced quickly" on him from behind, firing at least three shots, Scott said. The officer "had no chance at all" to pull his handgun and "was completely helpless," Scott said, noting the encounter was recorded by the police car's dashcam.
"Make no mistake: We believe during this investigation that Ballwin officer was ambushed, period," Belmar said.
After the shooting, Belmar said, the suspect sped away before an officer from another police department spotted the car about four miles away. The suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot before being arrested about five minutes later, Belmar said.
The suspect was on probation for a weapons violation in St. Louis, Belmar said, had been on probation for a stolen vehicle in Oklahoma and was picked up for a gun violation in California, drawing a prison term for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was paroled in March 2015.
Citing his concern about the shooting and the Dallas tragedy, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon opted against leaving Friday for an eight-day overseas trade mission as planned and instead would return to Missouri from a Philadelphia event, spokeswoman Channing Grate said.
The shootings of officers in Ballwin, Dallas, Tennessee and Georgia in a 24-hour period prompted police agencies regionally and elsewhere in the U.S. to take precautionary safety measures. Earlier Friday, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said his city's law officers will work in pairs until further notice because of the Dallas killings, and that all officers must wear bullet-resistant vests when on duty outside of police stations.
Dotson said his department has gone to 12-hour days now through the weekend, given the national debate about policing and minorities.
"It's an unfortunate state of events we're dealing with right now," Belmar said. "I do understand the silent majority out there supports us."
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