Reading this made me realize what a tactical error I made back in 2001. I was the chief of police in a town of 1200. We had a man living here that was pure evil and everybody knew it. He especially hated anyone with authority. I spent 20 years mentally preparing myself for the time it would come down to the wire. In 2000, I told my wife to be aware of whether he was in the neighborhood or wherever she was. I also told her that I would likely have to shoot him the next time I encountered him and to be prepared for a lawsuit afterwards. I made sure she was trained and armed when I wasn't around. The call came in early that night. A young county deputy had gone alone to serve a misdemeanor warrant on him. Now the deputy was no longer answering his radio. I was home sick that night but knew what had happened as soon as I got the call. I responded and received bad information over the radio. Once I figured things out, I saw the suspect driving the deputy's squad car. A backup officer was front bumper-to-front bumper with him and backing down the street in front of him. I pulled in behind and started planning my response. The other officer saw me and decided to end the situation, turning his squad car crosswise in the road. The suspect rammed him and I pulled up from behind, offsetting my car so the engine was between me and him and also getting close enough so he couldn't drive away, but leaving enough room between my car and his that I could move through between the vehicles if necessary. When I opened my door, there was a shotgun blast. It was directed at the other officer who was exiting his car. I ducked behind my open door and decided to get behind my car, putting as much metal as I could between us. This put me in a position where I no longer was able to provide fire, unless he exited the vehicle. I then moved to the passenger side of my vehicle to get a better target picture. What I just now realized was I had just made it easier for him to turn and fire at me. I felt several rounds buzz past my head. All I could see was the very top of his head above the top of the seat he was sitting in. I calculated what I hoped was a torso shot and also hoped that it would miss any serious metal in the seat's framework. Everything seemed to be working in slow motion and I was very focused on what I was doing, using the training I had been given in my career. The suspect ended up unconscious with a bullet wound to the face that blinded one eye and caused deafness. The bullet fragment was about .38 caliber and lodged behind his ear. It wasn't removed. Both the other officer and myself carried .45 ACP pistols. The suspect had a .45, a shotgun, and the deputy's 9 mm. The rest of the story is that the deputy had received a point blank shotgun wound to the face. His car was then taken and driven a block to a neighbor's house where he gunned down the adults after kicking their door in. He spared the 10 year old child. He then proceeded to drive around town looking for others that he believed had wronged him. I am certain that he planned to kill as many perceived enemies as he could and then die when he encountered the police. He ended up on death row where he eventually committed suicide.
