(AR) Marion police officer shot, returns fire; one suspect dies

[Drizzt]

Marion police officer shot, returns fire; one suspect dies

By Jody Callahan
[email protected]

January 30, 2003

MARION, Ark. - A Marion police officer was shot Thursday morning following a short car chase that began after a routine traffic stop, officials said.

One suspect died and authorities took another person into custody.

Officer Freddy Williams, 36, who has been with the department for three years, was shot once above the left cheekbone, said Marion police Capt. James Wilson. The bullet did not hit the officer’s eye.

Williams was airlifted to The Regional Medical Center at Memphis, where he was in serious condition Thursday afternoon.
Wilson said police were still gathering details Thursday afternoon but it appears that Williams had stopped a car for having no tags. He placed one suspect in his police cruiser when the other suddenly drove away.

After a short pursuit along an access road to Interstate 55, the suspect stopped the car, got out and began shooting at Williams.

The officer returned fire, killing the suspect, Wilson said.

The shooting happened about 11:15 a.m. on a service road about a mile north of Marion. Traffic was backed up on Interstate 55 as a result of the shooting.

Williams is married and has an 8-year-old son.

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_news/article/0,1426,MCA_437_1709939,00.html

 

[DeltaElite]

No such thing as a "routine traffic stop".

God speed Ofc Williams.

 

[Mike Irwin]

I met a US Park Police officer 2 years ago who was just coming back to duty after being shot point blank in the face during a traffic stop. His one cheek was essentially pulverized.

He wasn't too pretty anymore, but the doctors had done an incredible job with this guy.

 

[Drizzt]

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


February 01, 2003, Saturday

SECTION: ARKANSAS; Pg. 17

LENGTH: 714 words

HEADLINE: Memphian held on $ 1 million bond following Marion police gunbattle Officer mending after being shot in face by second suspect

BYLINE: BY KENNETH HEARD ARKANSAS Democrat-GAZETTE

BODY:
MARION - A Memphis man is in jail on a $ 1 million bond after Thursday's fatal shootout between a Marion police officer and another man.

Officer Freddie Williams, 36, was shot once in the face and underwent reconstructive surgery Friday after a gunbattle along an Interstate 55 service road just north of Marion. Williams shot and killed a man whom police have yet to name.

John Earl Walker, 22, appeared in West Memphis District Court on Friday morning where he was bound over to Crittenden County Circuit Court to face a series of charges.

Crittenden County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Fred Thorne said he and Marion Prosecuting Attorney Jim Hale will continue their investigation through the weekend and possibly into early next week before actually filing charges in circuit court.
Possible charges include manslaughter in the death of the suspect, theft of property, possession of a firearm by a certain person, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver and criminal attempted capital murder.

"We want to make sure our facts are correct," Thorne said.
Williams stopped an older model Pontiac about 11:15 a.m. Thursday on a service road on the east side of I-55. Police originally said the officer made the traffic stop because the car had expired tags, but the vehicle did have a temporary license with a Feb. 8 expiration date posted in the back window.
Thorne said the Pontiac had been stolen during a carjacking in Memphis last week.

Williams placed Walker in the back seat of his patrol car when the second suspect, who was a passenger, slid over to the driver's seat of the vehicle and drove away. Williams chased the Pontiac for less than a mile until it suddenly stopped.

The suspect got out of the Pontiac and fired several shots at Williams. At least three bullets hit the hood of Williams' patrol car and three more went through the windshield. One struck Williams just under the left eye.

Thorne said Williams got out of his car and returned fire, killing the man.

Thorne said police have identified the dead man, but won't release his name until relatives are notified. He said the man is not from the area and officers were having difficulty locating an address or telephone number for any kin.

Williams was treated by a paramedic who was traveling on the interstate and saw the gunbattle.

The officer was later transported by helicopter to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis where he underwent a lengthy surgical procedure to repair his shattered cheekbone, said Kay Brockwell, a city spokesman. He was listed in stable condition Friday night.

"This kind of thing doesn't happen in Marion," Brockwell said of the shooting. "You just don't anticipate it here."

It was the first time a Marion police officer had ever been shot.
Arkansas State Police Trooper Frederick Glen Bailey was shot and killed on Sept. 5, 1980, while making a traffic stop on I-55 near Marion. The suspect shot Bailey in the chest, killing the officer. A second trooper shot and wounded the suspect, who was later convicted of the killing and sentenced to life.

"He is a pretty well-liked officer," said Janice Vail of Williams, who has been with the Marion Police Department since 2000. "He is well thought of on the force. The whole town likes him."
David Pike, who serves as a chaplain to the Marion Police Department, said Williams' police training may have saved his life.
"He's in excellent shape," Pike said. "He reacted to the training he had. If he didn't have that training, he probably wouldn't be with us today."

Pike said Williams' shooting has affected other officers and Pike will work with the officers. He said Williams also will be affected once he recovers from his surgery.

"Anytime you take a life, it will take a toll on you," Pike said. "We'll follow up with Freddie. We're there to help him. Everybody knows him and everyone loves him."

Williams' family requested anyone wishing to make donations in his name do so to Centurions for Christ, a Christian organization made up of police officers. Donations can be sent to the West Memphis chapter, of which Williams is a member, at Centurions For Christ, P.O. Box 3007, West Memphis, Ark. 72303.
This story was originally published on Saturday, February 01, 2003.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Sounds like the windscreen absorbed a lot of the bullet's energy. Good thing for him.