Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper, Abraham Martinez, after shooting Steven Gaydos in the thigh following a high-speed chase (reaching 130+ miles per hour), leaped into the air and karate kicked him to the ground; Gaydos had run a stop sign in Texas’ Chambers County.
Gaydos was arrested for evading arrest, driving with an invalid license and possessing a prescription painkiller, after he was found to be carrying two Percocet pills. Martinez was suspended for three days without pay for violating DPS policy by using force inconsistent with his training.
Martinez was questioned following the incident, he claimed he shot at Gaydos and then kicked him off his bike because he believed the suspect was involved in some sort of crime. “Past experience has taught me that people evade arrest to conceal their identity after committing felonious crimes to include but not limited to, murders, aggravated robberies, sexual assaults, burglaries, and/or the vehicle utilized to evade arrest is stolen,” he said.
The DPS has since implemented some restrictions regarding the use of firearms on absconding suspects. It now requires officers to, “exercise sound judgment based on a deep reverence for human life.”
“Once a driver makes a conscious decision to evade law enforcement, they are automatically committing a felony offense and endangering the public,” DPS spokesman, Tom Vinger noted.
The shooting occurred on December 23rd, 2012, but the case came into prominence recently after the Austin American-Statesman, a daily news publication serving Austin, TX, conducted an investigation into how cops deal with fleeing suspects.
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Polisis at it yet again
Ok, I am not a fan of the police, I see all the KILLING they have been doing and it blows my mind, but I think a wreckless vehicle operator like this should be stopped and removed from the street even if it means taking a shot at him and kicking him off his bike to prevent him from hurting and killing innocent people. He was a lethal weapon on that bike and he should thank the officer for not running him down with his cruiser.
You are a idiot.
an* “you are an idiot.”
grammer Nazi?
Grammar*!! Grammar Nazi.
The biker was wreckless and reaching speeds of 130mph, running stop signs and suck makes him a lethal weapon. He is lucky that the officer didn’t run him down with his cruiser to prevent him from killing any innocent people
I would think that suspending him for many months or firing him would be more appropriate. Obviously he was pissed off at having the chase the guy and took it out on the guy who was not resisting at all at the time.
The officer should have ended the chase before there was any danger to the public. The guy may have got away but he would have stopped driving like he was being chased.