Posted on 06/10/2023 8:59:37 AM PDT by george76
A police officer in South Carolina is being praised after her quick-thinking helped a woman who mouthed "help me" during a traffic stop. Her alleged kidnapper was wanted in a shooting nearby, police said.
The North Myrtle Beach Police Department said Officer Kayla Wallace was patrolling in the early morning hours of May 28 when she saw a white Jeep go through a red light and quickly pulled it over.
Wallace saw a female driver and a male passenger. When the woman opened the door she appeared distressed.
"I gave loud orders for her to close the door," the officer wrote in the police report obtained by CBS News. "The passenger also opened his door and stated that the windows don't roll down. The driver then told me that she felt like she was going to throw up."
"While the male passenger wasn't looking at the driver, the female silently mouthed 'Help Me' repeatedly...
That prompted Wallace to remove the passenger from the vehicle and placed him in the back seat of her car before going back to talk to the woman. The driver then told her that the man had just shot someone and she had been forced to drive at gunpoint.
"She stated that she was under so much stress that she did not see that the stoplight was red," the officer noted in the police report.
Moments later, a "be on the lookout" alert — or BOLO — was sent over the radio from dispatch: a white Jeep SUV was involved in a shooting incident in the county, the alert said, a spokesperson told CBS News. No license plate was provided.
According to the police report, dispatch also described a Black male wearing blue jeans and blue and white Jordans, which matched the passenger's description. County law enforcement were then called to the traffic stop.
"[Officer Wallace] did not know anything about the shooting prior to her stop," Officer Pat Wilkinson told CBS News. "She was being a proactive police officer and simply observed a traffic violation 30 minutes before the end of her shift."
That led to the arrest of 29-year-old Collins Bates of Columbia, who remains detained, according to CBS affiliate WBTW. He faces charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with a shooting.
Bates allegedly shot someone, threatened another person and forced them to drive him away from the scene, according to warrants obtained by the station.
Wilkinson also told CBS News that a pistol was found under his seat in the car. Bates was also reportedly charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm.
I wish more police were like this.
Brave women, both of them, I am impressed that the ID included the BRAND of sneaker.
“ Black male wearing blue jeans and blue and white Jordans”
…color me shocked
According to the police report, dispatch also described a Black male wearing blue jeans and blue and white Jordans, which matched the passenger's description. County law enforcement were then called to the traffic stop.
it’s good this didn’t happen in Philly. The heroic officer would have been banned from pulling the car over for a minor traffic violation.
EC
The officer is lucky she wasn’t shot.
It could have ended very badly for her if she didn’t have her gun out when he got out on the passenger side.
I like a good ending though.
Maybe a bit of divine protection going on there for BOTH the women.
I wonder if she got lessons by watching David Hedison in the movie “The Fly.”
Me TOO! Although blacks DO KNOW their sneaker brands!
https://nypost.com/2023/06/09/south-carolina-woman-mouthes-help-me-aids-search-for-shooter/
Why didn't CBS show it?
There are a lot more police like this.
We just see the really bad ones, because they’re the ones that make the news more, as they should.
At the end of the day, the officer was doing her job and got lucky, really. Folks don’t realize how much that plays into events like this. If the officer had not been near that intersection at the moment she was, doing what she was doing, this wouldn’t be a story. But she was and that was pure luck/coincidence and she did a fantastic job.
There was a story a while back, NC I think, where a traffic stop led to the officer recovering two kids that had been kidnapped.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/31/why-no-white-house-invite-for-the-nashville-heroes-joe/
https://www.wabe.org/trump-honors-first-responders-action-during-i-85-collapse/
Illegal gun. From Columbia.
I'm impressed the BOLO mentioned his ethnicity.
Perhaps police get more info than our media reports to us mere mortals?
“Maybe a bit of divine protection going on there for BOTH the women.”
Everyone has a guardian Angel.
There are but they just don’t make the news
Great job Officer and all are safe!
Ya, calling for backup whilst the perp was still locked in her squad car was a good move.
To which Officer Wallace immediately replied "Cancel that BOLO, dispatch. I have the suspect in custody. Sorry it took me so long..."
The best police officer that ever pulled me over was the one that said a prayer for me before letting me go. A long time ago.
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