We’ve almost grown accustomed to seeing stories about police officers across the United States beating, choking, or shooting suspects they encounter while doing their jobs. Which is what makes what happened in New Richmond, Ohio, so refreshing.
Rookie?police officer Jesse Kidder was attempting to arrest a man who was accused of having just killed two people, and at one point the suspect even says to Kidder:
“Shoot me! Shoot me.”
To which Kidder replies:
“No man. I’m not gonna do it.”
In the body camera video, Kidder is seen to have his gun drawn, but at no point did he discharge his weapon. What a refreshing act that is in this day of excessive force. Kidder said he wanted to be certain he could not control the potentially violent situation in more restrained way before being forced to resort to his gun:
“Law enforcement officers all across the nation deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death.?I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force.”
New Richmond police chief Randy Harvey said on Facebook he was very proud of how his rookie officer handled the situation and added:
“Officer Kidder’s life was placed in immediate danger and I am proud to say he used great restraint at the risk of his own safety,”
The suspect, 27-year-old Michael Wilcox has been charged with the murder of?Courtney Fowler, 25, and Zach Gilkison, 27. He claims he was high on “everything” and that his music told him to kill, according to court records. He is being held at the Brown County Jail on $2 million bond.
Officer Kidder, meanwhile, is now a shining example of how compassionate and caring police officers can be when they choose to think before they act.
Watch The Body Camera Video!
