Posted on 03/07/2006 9:15:46 AM PST by SWO
VIRGINIA BEACH - A State Police trooper shot and wounded a man who claimed to have a gun and then lunged at the officer early Sunday, according to a State Police spokesman.
The trooper was unhurt.
Sgt. D.S. Carr said the wounded man, Nicholes Godwin, 26, of Marlboro Road in Portsmouth, had been arrested moments earlier on suspicion of drunken driving.
Godwin was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he underwent surgery Sunday and was listed in stable condition by evening. He is expected to recover, Carr said.
The incident began on westbound Interstate 64 about 2:16 a.m. when the trooper, identified by Carr as J.D. Goad, stopped a Buick on suspicion the driver might be intoxicated.
Carr said Goad stopped the car near mile marker 288, just past the Indian River Road interchange and west of Regent University.
Goad approached and questioned the driver, Carr said. Goad then gave the man a field sobriety test and, determining that he was drunk, placed him under arrest.
The suspect was placed in the front seat, a routine practice because State Police cars do not have a secured or "caged" rear seat for prisoners.
T he man would not stay put as instructed, Carr said. He got out of the car, struggled with Goad, and ran into the woods.
When the trooper caught up with the man a few moments later, Carr said, the suspect "said he had a gun" and threatened the trooper.
"In the darkness, Godwin charged at Goad," Carr said.
As the man lunged, Goad opened fire. He "shot Godwin multiple times in the torso and lower extremities," Carr said.
Goad immediately radioed for medical aid, Carr said. Numerous State Police troopers responded to the scene along with rescue units. Paramedics tended to Godwin at the scene before taking him to Norfolk General.
Special agents with the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation came to the scene to handle the investigation, Carr said. They made an extensive search of the woods but found no evidence of any weapon. Godwin was unarmed when searched.
Two other people, identified as relatives of Godwin's, were in the car with him when it was stopped. They were not involved in the altercation.
"They stayed in their car, and they've been cooperative with us," Carr said. They were not charged with any offense.
Godwin, who remains hospitalized, is under the guard of a State Police trooper.
Warrants have been filed charging him with speeding, drunken driving, felonious assault and escape, Carr said.
Goad has been a trooper for five years. "He's been at it a number of years and is very experienced," Carr said.
He has been placed on routine, paid administrative leave pending a review of his actions and the completion of the investigation.
The results will be forwarded to the Virginia Beach commonwealth's attorney.
Reach Steve Stone at (757) 446-2309 or steve.stone@pilotonline.com.
© 2006 HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com
VIRGINIA BEACH - A State Police trooper shot and wounded a man who claimed to have a gun and then lunged at the officer early Sunday, according to a State Police spokesman.
And the beat goes on....and the beat goes on...seems like these fools would learn to just take the fine and the time for their own stupidity, but some of them just never learn. Glad the trooper was o.k. after this incident.
State Police cars do not have a secured or "caged" rear seat for prisoners.
That's bad SOP
Sounds like a darwin award candidate to me.
And how stupid does a person have to be to tell a cop that they have a gun when it turns out they don't? Wasn't there some TV show called, "Just Shoot Me"?
And if the cop had just let the drunk go, the down side would have been. . .
parsy, who thinks some cops have a lot in common with your average Nazi.
Sounds like attempted suicide by cop to me. There are quite a few cases of people trying to off themselves by putting themselves in a situation where a cop will be forced to shoot them. My sympathy goes to the cop.
The only reason everyone doesn't run from the cops, every time, is because they know the cops won't "just let the drunk go". Policing is impossible under those conditions.
So9
I'm not a fan of cops as such, but wouldn't tag anyone with the Nazi label. Letting the guy go is not really an option under these circumstances since, if the guy were at some later time to maybe kill or maim someone while driving drunk, the cop's failure to get him off the street would he a major liabilty issue for the state. I know that if someone comes at me in the dark saying that they have a gun, I'm probably going to have to shoot him. Of course, I'm not a cop and maybe they should know better, but I don't see how.
And if the cop had just let the drunk go, the down side would have been. . .
Well, he could have went on down the road and killed a few people in an accident. Then the officer would have been charged or sued for negligence.
I dislike selective enforcement.
I hate to tag anyone with that label but some cops simply are. The real reason why they pursue is a personal one. They can't stand someone disrespecting them enough to run. That's why Rodney King got the crap beat out of him.
parsy, who does have some cop friends, believe it or not.
I actually thought about that after I posted it and considered a qualifier to my statement which is that I could maybe go with the label in certain individual cases where I had personal knowledge of the individual in question.
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