Convicted Felon Tries To Take Deputy’s Gun, Is Arrested

(Warning: Video may be disturbing for some)

A convicted felon was successfully subdued by deputies in Raleigh County, West Virginia, during a drug raid on Aug. 16. The man allegedly tried to take a deputy’s weapon after resisting arrest.

“He put up quite a fight,” Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jim Bare said, according to the website Blue Lives Matter on Aug. 24.

The incident took place at 7:50 a.m. local time when Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted to execute a search warrant at a home in Crab Orchard.

Deputies used a battering ram to force their way into a residence before going to the home’s basement. There, they spotted two people hiding under blankets.

One of the suspects “became combative” after they refused to show their hands, officials said. “Deputies first attempted to force his hands behind his back, but were unsuccessful due to his strength and willingness to fight,” Sergeant G. Kade said in a police report.

“He’s trying to grab my gun!” Sergeant R. White said in an arrest report. Another deputy began “applying pain compliant strikes” to the suspect and “seemed to have no effect,” the report read.

The deputies were able to subdue the man by holding his head and upper body while another controlled his legs.

According to Blue Lives Matter, no officers were harmed during the incident.

“It was later found in this investigation that the male subject involved was David Bruce Gillespie due to the Live Scan machine sending us an alert [with his true identity],” an arrest report read. “This is a shame, because all of this could have been avoided if you would have just complied with us and told the truth,” one of the officials told him

“Man, I knew I was wanted and didn’t want to go to jail,” Gillespie said in the report.

In a now-viral incident (which can be seen below), a Florida man was seen trying to grab a police Taser after an accident before officers opened fire, hitting him in the legs. The suspect, who had just survived a minivan crash, was identified as Jahmal Parker, 29, according to WFLA. Parker allegedly rear-ended another vehicle in the incident. Video footage of the altercation was released in early August.

“They approached the driver of the vehicle and, still being uncooperative, the driver reached for the officer’s electronic control device, also known as a Taser,” Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Carlos Rosario told WFLA on Aug. 9. “[Parker] removed the Taser from the officer’s person and pointed it at the officer,” said Rosario.

WARNING: Viewers may find the following footage disturbing

Most Dangerous Part of Being an Officer

The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund (pdf) said that traffic stops are notoriously dangerous for police officers in the United States. The leading causes for officers being shot and killed in 2017 was when they were responding to domestic disturbances and conducting traffic stops, its annual report said.

“The leading circumstances of firearms-related fatalities were officers responding to domestic disturbances and conducting traffic stops,” the memorial fund stated.

According to the most recent figures published by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, “A greater percentage of male drivers (12 percent) than female drivers (8 percent) were stopped by police during 2011.” It adds: “In 2011, about 3 percent of traffic stops led to a search of the driver, the vehicle, or both. Police were more likely to search male drivers (4 percent) than female drivers (2 percent).”