An officer who was being pummeled by a suspect, ordered a concealed carry holder to shoot the man attacking him. The cop literally shouted, “shoot him” to the armed citizen. This story has gotten even more bizarre in recent days as it turns out that the suspect was a former corrections officer.
From NewsPress.com:
[quote_box_center]The Monday incident began near the Daniels Parkway exit on the highway where Bardes was assisting Florida Highway Patrol troopers on a single vehicle, single occupant crash with no injuries, said Lt. Greg Bueno, of the Florida Highway Patrol. Strother was speeding and nearly hit Bardes who believed it was intentional and began chasing Strother. At the Corkscrew exit, Strother exited his car and approached Bardes as he exited his patrol car. Strother slammed Bardes to the ground and began to pummel him, witnesses said.[/quote_box_center]
The armed citizen is a “super nice guy”:
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A member of the public, who the sheriff’s office is calling a “good Samaritan”, shot and killed Strother. The bystander’s name has not been released because the investigation remains open, said Lee County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Anita Iriarte.
A request for Bardes’ dash cam footage was denied because “only our traffic traffic units have cameras,” said Sgt. Matt McDaniel. “Patrol deputies do not and he is assigned to patrol.”
On Tuesday, sheriff’s deputies accompanied the bystander to Shoot Straight, a Fort Myers gun dealer and firing range, which gave him a replacement handgun.
“We reached out to the Lee County Sheriff,” said Mark Williams, who has managed the Fort Myers Shoot Straight location since it opened in 2010 off Colonial Boulevard. “He had to impound the gun for evidence. We wanted to donate a gun so this man’s not unarmed.”
“I know he wants to stay anonymous,” said Williams, who declined to identify the recipient of the gun. “He’s a super nice guy. He doesn’t want any attention.”
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The guy who attacked the cop has a history of violence:
[quote_box_center]Edward Strother worked as a a corrections officer from Aug. 1, 1986 to Dec. 1, 2007, according to a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Correction. He retired in 2007 with pension.
Questions remain on why 53-year-old Strother attacked Deputy Dean Bardes, a 12-year-veteran of the sheriff’s office, after a vehicle pursuit on the highway that ended near the Corkscrew Road off-ramp in Estero and ended Strother’s life after a member of the public intervened by shooting him.
“I can’t explain it,” said Strother’s brother, Louis Strother. Louis Strother lives in Connecticut.
“He’s dead now,” Louis Strother said. “Everyone is messed up right now.”
He declined to comment further.
Strother, of Ocala, punched a security guard at Winter Haven Hospital in December of 2015, according to a Winter Haven police report. Strother argued with a triage nurse when a security guard intervened. He had an active misdemeanor arrest warrant for failing to appear for that battery charge.
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It looks like the citizen is a hero who saved the day, but we’ll have to wait for all the facts to find out for sure. Apparently the race of the people involved in the shooting wasn’t the right mix to rile up Black Lives Matter protestors. Still anti-cop groups are using their imagination to gin up conspiracy theories, like this one, in response to the shooting.
Concealed carry may have saved yet another life. Carry on!
Lucky man that officer that a citizen with RTC was there to help…Best to both of them…
And the left will blame the gun or manufacturer for killing a former corrections officer.
No, a good Samaritan with a legal CCP and weapon saved a LEGITIMATE Law Enforcement Officers life.
Those are the facts! And the libs better get used to the real world.
The libs cannot speak reality, their spin is exactly why they keep losing more and more seats up and down the ballots!
Law abiding citizens have a right and or a responsibility to carry open or conceal . Look no farther than the history of Kennesaw ,Ga which passed a law in late 1990’s , that every head of household needed to be armed. The statistics from that time until 2007 were amazing ….only one murder , and the crime rate drop was unbelievably significant . Guns in the hands of responsible people reduce crime in a big way.
that’s one of the reasons we have concealed carry.When I’m on the road and see an officer with a pulled over vehicle I look to see if the officer is O.K.If not ,I will be his immediate back up.
I never worried about Right to Carry when I went to the U. Of I and worked in Chicago. There were no permits. I still saved two lives and stopped numerous robberies and assaults with my illegal firearms and switchblade! I finally got tired of the violence and moved to Nevada. by the way, carrying a switchblade is legal in Nevada.
“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government”
— Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334
GOOD JOB TO THE PERSON INVOLVED. THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR HELPING THE POICE OFFICER. WE ALL NEED TO BE WATCHING OUT AND HELPING THE POLICE IF NEED BE, I KNOW I WOULD IN THAT SITUATION MYSELF! THANKS AGAIN!
Well done.
We are going to have to back up the police, since bmuma doesn’t like police.
I fear that America is reaching the stage where the only way to be safe here is to carry concealed. John.
A armed citizen who is unnamed saved the life of a police officer in trouble. they took his gun as evadence. A group of pro gun folks give him a new gun siche could still protect himself and others. Thanks Brother in arms. Well Done
Right on good call it’s a tragedy when a life has to be taken but our people in blue are taking a beating out there I’m a retired vet and thought I would never see the day this country would be as crazy as it is people are nuts we the people are here for our brothers in blue they may not wear the same uniform but they are fighting the same fight God Bless guys stay safe
I believe that anyone beating someone severely should be shot. The Detective that was pistol whipped while people stood around and took videos of it and cheered should all should have been shot. That was deplorable, and I think that they were democrats!!!!!!
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