The danger of police work was made poignantly clear in a recent video released by the Pasco County Sheriff’s office of an officer getting tased by a suspect.
On Tuesday, Oct. 16, Pasco, Florida Deputy Darren Goodwald was in the midst of what seemed like a routine traffic stop, which unexpectedly turned into a life-or-death struggle with a drug-crazed suspect who had a long criminal history.
The incident was captured by the 27-year-old deputy’s body camera.
A Mundane Traffic Stop
The incident began with a mundane traffic stop conducted by Deputy Goodwald in Pasco, Florida. The deputy noticed a vehicle with the wrong tag—the tag from another vehicle had been attached.The person in the vehicle, later identified as Bryan Roque, 30, has a long record of arrests in Pasco County, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Having the license plate from another car often means that the car was stolen to be used in a crime.
After Deputy Goodwald stopped the vehicle, the driver tried to flee on foot, and Deputy Goodwald set off in pursuit.
The suspect ran around a house and back to the stopped car. He climbed in and tried to drive away. But the car would not start. With Deputy Goodwald approaching quickly, the suspect decided to take off running once again—and Deputy Goodwald kept following.
The suspect then attempted to hijack the car of a woman who happened to be driving by. When that didn’t work, the suspect once again started running between houses.
A Dangerous Conflict
Deputy Goodwald eventually caught the suspect, drew his taser, and ordered the subject to stop or risk being tased. After a short struggle, the suspect fell face down on the ground.Deputy Goodwald then reached for his radio to call for backup. When he did, the suspect began fighting.
After a few seconds the suspect managed to grab Deputy Goodwald’s taser. According to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, both Deputy Goodwald and the suspect got tased in the struggle.
As Deputy Goodwald fought to recover from being tased, he also fought to control the suspect. Somehow the suspect grabbed the deputy’s gun—the ultimate nightmare for a police officer.
At that point, Deputy Goodwald called for help—and the raw emotion in his voice is heart-rending. He realizes he has just inadvertently armed a violent offender who has shown a willingness to do harm to others.
At this point the body-cam video doesn’t show what is happening—the deputy and the suspect are locked in combat, rolling on the ground. According to Pasco Sheriff’s Office, two bystanders came to the officer’s aid.
A few seconds later, another deputy arrived and tased the suspect, and the two deputies were able to regain control of the situation.
An Educational Video
This video footage shows the everyday trials of being a law enforcement officer and how they must risk their life to subdue dangerous criminals, who are willing to hurt others to get what they want.It also highlights the bravery every officer has to bring to every encounter—even a mundane traffic stop—in order to protect other members of the community.
Two ordinary citizens also came out of their homes and put themselves at risk to help the officer, demonstrating how important it is for the community to offer their support to law enforcement.
“I scrolled through these comments looking for a negative one just to read what it could possibly say. I’m shocked that I got tired of scrolling and only seen positive feedback from everyone,” he commented.
“It’s finally great to see a bunch of people supporting law enforcement again. Great job brother I’m glad you get to keep fighting the good fight.”
Many others offered commendations to Officer Goodwald and the two citizens who risked their lives to help him.
