Officer resists, suspect still exists
Police resists shooting suspect
This is Jesse Kidder, a rookie police officer in the New Richmond Police Department. He has been receiving a lot of attention and praise lately from colleagues, reporters, and strangers for refusing to fire on a charging suspect demanding to be shot. Kidder’s restraint spared the suspect’s life, even though his chief said he would have every right to pull his trigger. Photo courtesy of Maddie Schramm.
A patrolman in New Richmond, Ohio had every right to shoot the possible criminal he caught, and yet, he held his trigger and spared the person.
Jesse Kidder, a new officer in the New Richmond Police Department, cornered a man suspected of murdering his fiancée and best friend on Thursday, April 16, 2015.
According to CNN, the incident was caught on Kidder’s body camera, which was purchased by his family after the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. The footage shows Kidder getting out of his car, gun pointed at the suspect, now identified as Michael Wilcox.
Kidder demands Wilcox put his hands in the air, and Wilcox begs Kidder to shoot him.
Kidder notices Wilcox put one hand in his sweatshirt pocket, then the other, and keeps his gun on him, fearing Wilcox may be armed. But Kidder still refuses to fire.
CNN reports that Wilcox keeps advancing toward Kidder, pleading to be shot, but Kidder refuses to pull the trigger. Eventually, Wilcox gives up and falls to the ground with his arms out, just as backup arrives.
Colleagues claim that while Kidder has only been on the force for a year, his actions show “great restraint”.
To read more, go to www.cnn.com and search “cop refuses to fire on charging suspect”.
