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Two black police officers ambushed – one shot in the head and is in ‘grave condition’

August 31, 2020
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Posted by: Chris Elliot

ST LOUIS, MO – Pray.  That’s about all we can do right now.

We’ve got an update for you on the horrific attack that Law Enforcement Today first reported on two black St. Louis Police Officers on Saturday night.

As of Sunday, the latest update shows one of the officers has already been released from the hospital while the second is listed in ‘grave condition’.

The St Louis Police Department released an update on Twitter:

“Our critically wounded officer is still in grave condition at the hospital.  The second injured officer has been released from the hospital.  We sincerely appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for both officers and their families.” 

Police report that the officer who is in grave condition and fighting for his life is only 29 years old.  He has been with the police department for almost four years.

The second officer is 30-years old and has been on the force for less than six months.

Police reported that the suspect was taken into custody around 5am on the 30th after being barricaded in a residence for almost 12 hours.

Police advised that there were no additional shots fired and reported no other officers injured during the situation.  Police have not released many details as to how the suspect was taken into custody.

St Louis Police Chief John Hayden reported that these two officers are the 7th and 8th to be shot since June 1st of this year in the city.  Hayden said:

“Naturally, it’s very disturbing.  We’re just trying to do our jobs and so our officers cope.  We comfort one another.  We seek assistance from counseling but, at the end of the day, we’re trying to cope through a very trying summers.  It just seems very difficult, very difficult.”

Hayden added:

“Our officers have been going through a lot this summer, as you know.  We’ve had a surge in violence.  These officers, all they’re trying to do is do their job and help a person that’s wounded, and they come under gunfire themselves.” 

The initial call happened on the 29th as officers responded to a report of gunshots around 6pm.  Officers were searching for a possible gunshot victim in the area when the initial shots were fired at them.

Upon their arrival, the suspect began firing on them, striking one in the head and the other in the leg as he was attempting to rescue the downed officer.

The suspect fled the initial scene and went to a residence where he ordered all of the occupants out at gunpoint.  The man then barricaded himself inside the home.

SWAT officers responded to the scene and the people inside the Hartford area were told to shelter inside their homes.  Hostage negotiators began their attempts at getting the suspect outside without any further harm.

Residents in the area advise they heard several loud popping noises between 8pm which lasted on and off until roughly 9:30pm.  It is unknown if those loud popping noises were gunshots or not.

Residents said that officers were attempting to talk the suspect out of the home on a bullhorn or loud speaker.  One resident reported hearing the police saying:

“Come on, son, you have a wife and kid…you gotta come out.” 

It is apparent that these initial attempts failed.  At some point, police did utilize tear gas which was fired into the residence; however, it is unclear at what point in the standoff that occurred.  We do know that the suspect did eventually surrender on the 30th.

Hayden said:

“While they’re on the scene, they hear shots, and our first officer, who is very critically injured, and when I say very critically injured, he’s very critically injured, he was shot.  He has a head wound.  And that officer is down.

“As our brave officers were trying to get him secured, other officers responded to the scene, and another one of our officers was shot in the leg.  Both are at area hospitals.  Doctors are working feverishly to assist them.”

A resident in the area, Matt Miller, told the St Louis Post Dispatch that he estimated over 70 officers that had responded to the area during the incident.  The officers formed a perimeter around the area and closed down the roadways to keep innocent people out of harms way.

Missouri Republican Governor and former law enforcement officer Mike Parson said on Twitter:

“Two @SLMPD officers were shot by a gunman tonight while protecting St Louis citizens, and they are now hospitalized.  Teresa & I are praying for the officers and their families.  Chief Hayden said this makes eight STL officers shot since June.  This violence must end!  #BackTheBlue.”

Law Enforcement Today is praying for the officer who is fighting for his life and thankful for the other officer who has been released.

In the meantime, two other officers were shot in Chicago early Sunday morning:

CHICAGO, IL – What started out as police in Chicago pulling over a suspect during the early morning hours of August 30th turned into a shootout between the suspect and police. Reportedly two officers were shot and injured, as was the suspect.

At approximately 2:33 a.m. on August 30th, police attempted to pull over a vehicle within the 3300 block of West Polk Street that matched the description of one reported that hosted an individual who was said to have been driving around with a gun.

While the suspect and the officers injured have not been identified, the officers were said to have spotted the gun when they pulled the driver over. Police Superintendent David Brown stated that the officers resorted to trying to break out the vehicle windows when the suspect had refused to exit the vehicle.

At some point during the interaction a scuffle ensued, and both officers were said to have been shot by the suspect. A third officer had arrived on the scene and fired at the suspect, wounding the individual.

Superintendent Brown noted that there is body camera footage available and that police are currently reviewing the shooting. The officers injured were only described as both men in their 20s that have been on the force for about two years each.

Photos said to be from the crime scene were shared by police spokesman Tom Ahern, showcasing a gun located that is presumably the one wielded by the suspect in the shooting.

Both officers were sent over to Stroger Hospital after the shooting. While one officer was reportedly shot in the hand and is in good condition, the second officer was shot twice and was said to have underwent surgery for lung and abdominal injuries.

Both the officers and the suspect are expected to survive, according to police.

Ephraim Eaddy, a spokesperson for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, also noted that they’re looking into the shooting as well. As for the officers involved in the case, they’re expected to be placed on administrative duties for 30 days as per standard protocol.

Surprisingly, Mayor Lori Lightfoot addressed the incident and stated that this incident is indicative of why defunding the police would be a bad idea.

This is a developing investigation. Please follow Law Enforcement Today for updates as the case progresses.

The violence in the city continues to explode.

Last week in Chicago, during the ongoing violent crime spree that has overtaken the city of Chicago, a 14-year-old girl was reportedly stabbed to death and a 15-year-old girl was stabbed near the eye on Aug. 26.

According to Chicago Police, the incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on South Parnell Avenue. Three girls were involved in some type of dispute with five other people, possibly stemming from some type of social media argument.

During the altercation, a female in the larger group began stabbing two girls with a knife, and a 38-year-old woman was hit in the head with a bottle.

The 14-year-old girl was stabbed in her chest and stomach area and was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center. She was pronounced deceased after arrival.

The second girl who was stabbed, a 15-year-old, received wounds under her eye and was transported to St Bernard Hospital. Police say that she is listed in good medical condition.

Violence is nothing new in Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago. Violent crime has been on the uptick ever since she took office. She has done little, if anything, to quell the violence, which is not always geared toward the young.

Law Enforcement Today brought you another article recently in which an elderly woman was violently mugged outside her home in broad daylight. Surveillance video shows the cowardly thief sneaking up behind the 84-year-old victim, and then violently knocking her to the ground while stealing her purse.

The video shows the victim fall to the ground and strike her head on the concrete pavement. The impact apparently knocked her unconscious or stunned her to the point where she does not move for several moments after the fall. Thankfully, she eventually starts to move her hand.

The elderly victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she received treatment for the injury.  It is unknown what her status is at this time.

People in the area told police that the suspect who knocked the elderly woman down and stole her purse was in the area with two other people. As of this report, there is no indication that any persons of interest have been identified in the case.

The increase in violence in the Windy City is most likely due to three main causes: first, the utter and complete failure of Lightfoot’s weak attempt at leadership; two, the utter and complete lack of respect for law enforcement (from the public and from city leaders); and third, the number of violent criminals who are being released instead of remaining in jail.

Regarding this third most likely main cause of increased violence, judges in Chicago have increased the number of people they are releasing to electronic monitoring (GPS) in lieu of spending any amount of time in jail.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown points to electronic monitoring being one of the main causes for the increase in violent crime. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brown said:

“My hope is that the deaths of these young people will not be in vain and will prick the hearts of the decision-makers who release violent offenders on electronic monitoring back into these very communities to mete out this kind of violence every weekend.” 

On a report from Aug. 9, 43 people currently facing murder charges in Chicago are out on electronic monitoring. Also, 160 people charged with robbery and 1,000 others charged with illegal gun possession are in the GPS program.

That means that someone could literally shoot someone today and be out tomorrow on electronic monitoring.

Proponents of the GPS program point to cost savings, in terms of not having to pay to house these offenders in county jail, and also point to the ability to know where these criminals always are.

But proponents fail to take into account the additional costs to the system and to society if offenders commit additional offenses while out on electronic monitoring. And it happens.

Proponents also fail to take into account that electronic monitoring works only if offenders do not cut off or otherwise remove the monitor.

But they do.

Also in Chicago, prosecutors say it took a man merely six days after getting out of prison for attempted murder for him to land his hands on an illegally-possessed firearm. Looks like this man’s newly attained freedom was rather short-lived.

Police arrested 35-year-old Juravius Gadberry on August 9th after officers pulled over a vehicle in which Gadberry was riding in the front passenger seat where a gun was located underneath where he was sitting.

Two black police officers ambushed - one shot in the head and is in 'grave condition'
Juravius Gadberry – Chicago Police Department

When police pulled the vehicle over, officers noticed Gadberry attempting to make some clandestine movements toward the vehicle’s floorboard where he was seated while the officers were walking up to the car. Police later said that they could smell alcohol emanating from inside the vehicle, too.

After Gadberry was removed from the vehicle, that’s when police located the weapon.

It was not even a full week since Gadberry was released from prison on August 3rd when he found himself being cuffed-up once again. He had just completed a 12-year sentence for attempted murder, according to reports.

The state obviously charged Gadberry with a felon being in possession of a firearm and his public defender, Courtney Smallwood, explained to Judge David Navarro during a bond hearing that it had been “12 years” since Gadberry’s last felony conviction.

Judge Navarro also reminded Attorney Smallwood that is mainly because Gadberry had been in prison for 12 years.

Except Gadberry hadn’t exactly been in prison for 12 years as he was previously paroled once before for the same sentence back in March of this year. However, after a parole violation following an out-of-state arrest, he placed back into custody on June 25th and then got paroled again on August 3rd.

Also, prior to the attempted murder bid Gadberry did, he was also previously convicted in 2004 for unlawful possession of a firearm and in 2007 was convicted of possession of a controlled substance.

The Illinois Department of Corrections requested that Cook County hold Gadberry in custody without bail while the state determines whether to revoke his parole based upon the latest gun charges, which Judge Navarro agreed to said request.

However, there was a separate bond of $100,000 placed on the latest gun allegations, meaning that if Gadberry ever gets paroled once again from the state, he’ll still be handed back over to Cook County and would need to pony up $10,000 to get released from jail.

Earlier this month in Chicago, a woman was arrested for engaging in one of the most idiotic acts of looting – by actually broadcasting her criminal acts on Facebook.

Criminal acts typically fall into a few categories – crimes of passion/emotion, planned criminal activities, and of course, crimes of opportunity. Two out of the three often are reckless and lead to speedy arrests, such as looting … and live-streaming on Facebook while you do it.

A 22-year-old woman in Chicago found out recently that while looting is exponentially dumb, broadcasting your criminal activities on the internet with video has to be a tier above in stupidity.

Police say that Taeshia Rochon decided that she would capitalize on ongoing looting in Chicago on August 10th and used the proverbial smokescreen of madness outside to snag some new jackets.

While live-streaming from inside of a Nordstrom on 55 East Grand, over 3,000 people were watching live at one point while Rochon appropriated some merchandise from Nordstrom.

Welp, apparently that wasn’t the only place Rochon decided to pilfer from, as she also allegedly stole some merchandise from a Sunglasses Hut located on 520 North Michigan.

It is with little surprise that someone who viewed the videos that Rochon put online tipped off police – which that is what happens when you broadcast your criminal activity online. This may come as a shock to those that cheer on the looting and riots, but not everyone is a fan of the madness.

Police caught up with Rochon and she turned herself into to authorities on August 16th and admitted to stealing at least one jacket but allegedly left it when police were outside of the Nordstrom on August 10th. She also admitted to at least being inside of the Sunglasses Hut.

So, Rochon is now not only the (possible) owner of a new jacket – but also snagged four felony charges of looting compliments of the CPD’s Looting Task Force.

Now Rochon can only get out of jail if she posts a $400 bond, but even then she’ll have to wear an ankle bracelet for electronic monitoring. Well, Rochon wanted some new duds, but I doubt an ankle bracelet was on the top of her list.

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