Thursday, January 13, 2011

Thank-a-Cop-Thursday: Robbery in Progress


This video is awesome ~ for a rare and unusual moment caught on tape: a robbery in progress occurring right in front of a cop.

At 5:45 a.m. on December 16, 2010, Police Officer Joshua Campbell walked in to a Walgreen's in Dayton, Ohio, to pick up a surveillance video of a robbery that occurred at 2:15 a.m., involving the use of a firearm. He waits for the clerk to finish her transaction before approaching the counter. The customer, completely unaware that a police officer stands behind him, decides to pull a robbery. Officer Campbell notices the customer reaching over the counter to grab cash from the register. Officer Campbell draws his weapon and confronts him. The pair end up in a violent struggle, which can be seen on another video, which includes commentary by Officer Campbell.
Who says there's never a cop around when you need one? Thanks, Officer Campbell, for a job well done!

Don't forget ~ today is "Thank-a-Cop Thursday" on Twitter, using the hashtag #tacop.

2 comments:

  1. Kathleen - Wow! What a story! I so admire cops who are willing to "go the extra mile" when someone is needed. Thanks for reminding me that there are truly good cops out there (besides yourself, of course :-) ).

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  2. Thanks, Margot, for your kind words :-)

    This is a perfect example of a "split second" decision that cops occasionally face. That's why it's difficult when critics Monday-morning quarterback the actions of cops when they have no idea what it's like to face certain situations. This one is an amazing example. The cop pulled his gun because he knew that the prior robbery involved a gun, and he couldn't tell if the man had a gun in front of him, pointed towards the clerk. The cop eventually had to holster his gun to have the use of two hands as the bad guy resisted. The bad guy punched the cop several times, and he tried to take the cop's gun. A frightening few minutes that must have felt like an eternity. Luckily, no one was seriously injured or killed ~ but the incident certainly had the potential.

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