Sounds like a couple of Pulp Fiction wanna-bes.
Posted on 10/13/2010 4:46:06 AM PDT by marktwain
JONESBORO — An off-duty police officer shot one of two men who were attempting to rob a Jonesboro restaurant early Monday, police said.
The suspects escaped but not for long. One is in the Craighead County Detention Center, while a second is in a Memphis hospital, Detective Mike Branscum of the Jonesboro Police Department said late Monday.
Patrolman Bobby Duff of the Arkansas State University Police Department and his girlfriend were the only customers in the International House of Pancakes, 2411 South Caraway Road, when the masked intruders entered the restaurant shortly after 4 a.m., Jonesboro police reported.
One man, armed with a semiautomatic pistol, pointed the gun at the store manager, demanding that she open the cash register, Duff said. The second man, armed with a bat, saw the customers, pointed the bat at them and ordered them to drop their cell phones, put their hands up and get on the floor.
“Duff stated that he then raised his weapon, fired two rounds, hitting the subject with the bat,” Patrolman Josh Wilcoxson wrote in his report. “He then turned toward the subject with the pistol pointed at the manager, fired a third round … and fired a fourth round through interior glass as the two subjects were fleeing out of the restaurant to keep them from returning fire.”
One man was shot in the hand and hip, police said.
Duff shot the robbers with his personal .380-caliber handgun. The off-duty officer was not injured, authorities said.
Randy Martin, interim chief of police at UPD, said certified law enforcement officers are allowed to carry firearms on their persons in Arkansas. It is their option whether they carry a personal firearm or a duty weapon issued by the law enforcement agency where they work.
Store surveillance cameras captured video of the incident from three angles, police said. A camera at Sam’s Club captured video of the two suspects leaving in a Jeep Liberty.
JPD Detective Lt. Rick Elliott said West Memphis police notified him about three hours after the incident that a gunshot victim had arrived at a West Memphis hospital. The patient was transferred to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.
The identities of the suspects were not released.
Elliott praised Duff’s actions, saying he did as he was trained to do. Martin added that Duff has been employed by UPD since January 2007. He had not been involved in a shooting incident before.
“He has been placed on administrative leave with pay, which is part of our policy any time an officer is involved in a deadly force incident,” Martin said. “He will remain in that status until we can have an administrative review on the findings of the investigation.”
Jonesboro Sun staff writer Sherry F. Pruitt contributed to this report.
good work
Sounds like a couple of Pulp Fiction wanna-bes.
“The second man, armed with a bat, saw the customers, pointed the bat at them . . .”
I wonder what caliber the bat was?
I dunno, but it was black. And it had rails. Yeah! That’s the ticket!
vegas costco, white courtesy phone please...
I’d like to buy Officer Duff a beer for his heroic response, and laugh in the face of everyone who wants to disarm law-abiding citizens. This is a win for us. I only regret that the result isn’t TWO DEAD SCUMBAGS.
In terms of target prioritization, if two perps are armed — one with a semi-automatic pistol and the other with a baseball bat — I think I would shoot the one with the pistol first and THEN the one with the bat. If the guy with the bat were only 5 to 10 feet away, I guess I would have to shoot him first, but other things being considered I would always target the guy with the higher firepower first.
If I was the restaurant owner, I think I’d give the officer an unlimited “free meal anytime” gift card.
The gun wasn't pointed at him and the bat was? I don't get it either, but as a cop he has to worry about the investigation more than an ordinary person would. My vote is the same as yours - solve the problem starting with the criminal with the firepower - although there may have been issues such as the one with the bat having a safer background for shots that go through.
Also, the batter took a shot to the hip and a shot to the hand. Those are both outside the 7 ring on the standard silhouette target. Sounds like a little extra time on the target range is in order.
I think somebody else pointed out that it might have been a large caliber bat.
That depends on how the bat holder was standing, sideways could put the hand as a 10 shot while the hip would be a 5 or 6 shot.
If our officer was pulling his pistol from a pocket or hip holster he may have fired as the gun came up. That would put the first round fired in the hip and the second in the hand.
If the bat was held outstretched in front of the bat man a hit to the hand would be in front of the 9 or 10 ring.
Also if the bat holder was between the perp with the gun and the LEO he would have to take on the bat man before firing on the gun holder.
Good points Pontiac.
We really need a One-Bat-A-Month law.
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