 Officers Ryan Eagleson, Nicholas Hackworth, Brian Aker and Jacob Malcomson have been selected as Officers of the Month for February 2021.Â
On 2/8/21 at approximately 9:15 p.m., these officers were the first to arrive within 2 minutes at Taco Bell on North Green River Rd for a person with a gun.Â
The caller was a Taco Bell employee and she had a protective order against her ex. He had been calling the business, stating he was going to come to kill her at work. He arrived at the business and was seen outside the entrance doors, waving a gun around. The employees locked the doors and called 911.Â
As officers arrived, they were well oriented to the fact that there were still employees looking out the doors, the long drive-thru line, and the usual traffic on Green River Rd.Â
Officer Eagleson was the first to verbally engage the suspect when he arrived. The suspect was seated in his vehicle beside the entrance doors. When Eagleson was giving instructions, he was yelling back “Shoot me!†and “Kill me!†repeatedly. Eagleson relayed to other officers that the suspect had a phone in his hand, not a gun. Shortly thereafter, they discovered he was live streaming on Facebook. Eagleson was firm yet professional and worked to de-escalate the situation. The suspect finally began to comply and exited the vehicle but, when told to get on the ground, started doing push-ups. He then decided to fully comply and was placed into custody. A loaded handgun was found positioned grip-up in the open center console.Â
Officers Eagleson, Hackworth, Aker, and Malcomson communicated well, figured out their roles, and let the situation play out without rushing it. As other officers arrived (Winn, Turnock, Frazier, VanFleet, Klein, K9 Offerman, VIPER), it all looked like something we, as an agency, had done and practiced a hundred timeÂ
 Congratulations on a job well done!Â
