With all the controversy in the news lately over police officers shooting suspects, it is reassuring to hear of an incident where a police officer could have justifiably shot a suspect but was able to avoid doing so. Ohio police officer Jesse Kidder, a former Marine and Purple Heart winner who had only been on the New Richmond force for a year, encountered a murder suspect who charged at him, saying, “Shoot me or I’ll shoot you.” The suspect, 27-year-old Michael Wilcox, had allegedly just killed his fiance and a friend. Kidder responded, “I don’t want to,” and amazingly, was able to avoid doing so.
The Daily Mail reports what happened next,
Eventually the suspect surrendered and lay on the ground with his hands outstretched as backup arrived, allowing Kidder’s partner to handcuff him.
The footage shows Kidder’s gun aiming at Wilcox throughout the encounter.
The officer told Cincinnati’s WLWT: ‘I was trying to open a dialogue with him. ‘I don’t want to shoot you, get on the ground,’ but he wasn’t having it.
‘He got towards my face right as I lost balance. I’m thinking, at this point, that if he goes into attack me, that I’ll have to use deadly force to defend myself.’
Despite the tense confrontation, which could have quickly turned deadly, Kidder said he had to make sure his decision was correct.
Officer Jesse Kidder
‘Law enforcement officers all across the nation have to deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force.’
Kidder’s family bought him the body cam after the high-profile shooting of Michael Brown by officer Darren Wilson last August. The video reveals that he would have been justified in shooting Wilcox. The Richmond police chief is now fundraising to provide body cams for all the officers on the force. This seems like an excellent move to protect our law enforcement officers and provide fairness – provided it is not abused to require police officers to wear them 24/7 in unnecessary situations as well, such as sitting and talking with friends. Watch the terrifying video below, as Wilcox continues to run at Kidder, despite repeated warnings.
With all the controversy in the news lately over police officers shooting suspects, it is reassuring to hear of an incident where a police officer could have justifiably shot a suspect but was able to avoid doing so. Ohio police officer Jesse Kidder, a former Marine and Purple Heart winner who had only been on the New Richmond force for a year, encountered a murder suspect who charged at him, saying, “Shoot me or I’ll shoot you.” The suspect, 27-year-old Michael Wilcox, had allegedly just killed his fiance and a friend. Kidder responded, “I don’t want to,” and amazingly, was able to avoid doing so.
The Daily Mail reports what happened next,