Ohio Cop Refused to Shoot Threatening Murder Suspect

Apr 18

Posted by

The cop was not shot. He lived, and so did the suspect.

Jesse Kidder

Rookie police officer Jesse Kidder

New Richmond, Ohio, rookie Police Officer Jesse Kidder has been on the force for a year. A friend gave him a body camera and he was wearing that on Thursday when stopping a suspected murderer. Michael Wilcox has since been charged with killing his fiancee, Courtney Fowler. Wilcox is also under suspicion for the death of his best friend.

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Arrested for murder, Michael Wilcox

Wilcox took the police on a car chase through multiple counties on the Ohio-Kentucky border before Kidder caught Wilcox and arrested him. 911 dispatchers told officer Kidder that Wilcox could have a gun under his seat and may be threatening suicide-by-cop.

Kidder said since he knew backup was coming, he held off shooting Wilcox.

“I was trying to open a dialogue with him. ‘I don’t want to shoot you, get on the ground,’ but he wasn’t having it. He kept repeating, ‘Shoot me.’ At one point, he said ‘Shoot me or I’ll shoot you.”

MSNBC reports:

The situation escalated: Wilcox put his hand in his pocket and again charged at Kidder — who is seen on the video tripping and falling backwards.

“He got towards my face right as I lost balance,” Kidder told WLWT. “I’m thinking at this point that if he goes into attack me, that I’ll have to use deadly force to defend myself.”

Officer Kidder stated;

“Law enforcement officers all across the nation have to deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force,” he said.

That is true, and all it takes is one second with a bullet to end a life. I wish that we could package Officer Kidder’s attitude and courage and inject it into other members of law enforcement, along with a dose of anti-stereotyping/profiling.

Posted on 04/18/2015, in Cases, Good Cops, Videos and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.

  1. mindyme62 | 04/18/2015 at 4:00 pm

    “They were leaving the scene to get a search warrant for the site when they identified [Wilcox] near the scene (in a vehicle), so they turned on him to see what he was doing.”

    Wilcox attempted to flee the scene and drove his car into a ditch, Smith said.

    “The two had [Wilcox] at gunpoint and there was a struggle,” Smith told The Enquirer. “He hit the gas and dragged the two down the road.”

    http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2015/04/17/police-investigating-dead-body-as-homicide/25924241/

    I’m holding it and I’m playing it, had this been a man of color, his ass would have been toast. We all know it.

    Like

  2. Mr. Militant Negro | 04/18/2015 at 6:14 pm

    Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.

    Like

  3. Jan Hobbs | 04/18/2015 at 6:23 pm

    Reblogged this on Blissfully Single and commented:
    I’m thrilled, yet I also noticed the suspect is not black. Hopefully the same thing would happen regardless of skin color.

    Like

    • Xena | 04/19/2015 at 12:53 am

      Jan, thanks for the reblog. White cops have killed White people. Black cops have killed Black people. Brown cops have killed Brown people. It doesn’t happen as often as White cops killing Black and Brown people and that might be due to White cops being the majority.

      What I hear Officer Kidder say that is of main importance, is that he kept his eye on Wilcox’s hand that was in his pocket. That avoided Kidder shooting and then saying that he thought Kidder was going for a gun. That is what I’ve tried to say about law enforcement, particularly when they are wearing bullet proof vests — they can wait one second before pulling the trigger.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Jan Hobbs | 04/19/2015 at 12:55 am

        The officer in this case is definitely to be commended. I really wish more officers acted as he did.

        Like

  4. georgiakevin | 04/18/2015 at 6:31 pm

    If this is an example of new law enforcement officer coming in to law enforcement then bring them on!

    Like

  5. yahtzeebutterfly | 04/18/2015 at 6:49 pm

    “I wish that we could package Officer Kidder’s attitude and courage and inject it into other members of law enforcement, along with a dose of anti-stereotyping/profiling.”

    That is my wish, too, Xena.

    In the past and presently I am not seeing members of the Black community receiving this type of treatment. I pray for change, advocate for change, wish for change….a change bringing about equal justice, a change ending stereotyping/profiling whether by LE or private citizens, and a change where a person’s innocence or guilt is decided in a courtroom and not on the street.

    I just read this April 17 article by Michael Eric Dyson from which I will quote the first paragraphs hoping it will lead many readers here to click on the link in order to read the whole article:

    “Racial Terror, Fast and Slow”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/opinion/racial-terror-fast-and-slow.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=1

    WASHINGTON — “IN the past two years, this country has held events commemorating 50 years since the triumphs and key struggles of the civil rights movement: the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act and, most recently, the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Ala.

    “Yet the glory of the past runs up against the gory details of the present.

    “The killing this month of Walter L. Scott by Officer Michael T. Slager highlights two interlocking truths: Social protest forces us to see realities we would rather avoid, and blacks live in mortal fear for our lives in a manner that most whites don’t see or understand.”

    Like

  6. Gronda Morin | 04/18/2015 at 7:24 pm

    Here is a rookie who used more common sense and sound judgment than probably those with more experience.

    Like

    • racerrodig | 04/18/2015 at 10:05 pm

      Exactly, I’d rather look at that positive side and give him credit for what he did do and not what he might have done if Wilcox was a minority. We have all stated not all cops are racists and we never hear about good that they do until something, like the cop who joined some black kids in a basketball game, or the one who was dancing in the street with the 2 little black girls, get posted on the internet.

      This is one cop, on video no less, who had several separate moments, where he would have been justified in firing a shot. Hell, if he’d have fired at him, or at the ground at Wilcox’s feet, to make him stop, nobody would be making a stink.

      To be honest, this rates better than “Text Book Police Work”

      Like

      • yahtzeebutterfly | 04/18/2015 at 10:46 pm

        ” We have all stated not all cops are racists and we never hear about good that they do until something, like the cop who joined some black kids in a basketball game, or the one who was dancing in the street with the 2 little black girls, get posted on the internet.”

        You are so right, Racer.

        A lot of police departments have good community outreach programs. Hayward PD in California has such a program:


        ” Published on Sep 26, 2012
        The City of Hayward’s Junior Giants Baseball program is a great example of Hayward’s strong sense of community. Police officers, professional counselors, city officials, community volunteers, and the San Francisco Giants Community Fund come together to provide the children of Hayward a safe, fun, and healthy summer activity. Within the Junior Giants Program, police officers interact as mentors with children and these children are encouraged and rewarded for summer reading, healthy eating, showing integrity and being a good teammate. They learn fundamental baseball skills while learning fundamental life skills, ultimately strengthening the Hayward community.”

        Like

    • Xena | 04/19/2015 at 12:55 am

      Hey Gronda! Yes. True courage is in the heart — not the gun.

      Like

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