2 Deputies shot (UPDATED)
 

Two (2) Hillsborough County Deputies were shot this morning in an armed confrontation with the suspect in a triple homicide near Carrollwood.
(Link Below)
http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingne...orough-de.html

I've known Ray since he was a rookie. The other one I'm not that famialiar with but understand he's in rough shape.

Prayers for them, thier families and extended families in law enforcement.

Seems to be quite frequent as of late.
Our Thoughts & Prayers

Prayers with the families and the Deputies.

Prayers submitted to the man upstairs..........

The boys and girls in blue or green are out there putting their lives on the line to keep us safe and crap like this happens. Gordon, the deputy that was shot in the torso, did the bullet go through his vest or just an unprotected area?

The initial report (internet) stated a through and through torso shot. I spoke with a close friend at the department who said the round entered the thigh, then exited the abdomen. I'm guessing and didn't want to get too nosey, but it souunds like a smaller calibre round striking the femur or something then traversing to the abdomen.

According to my friend, it nicked the bladder, but he is apparently going to be ok:thumbsup:

Ray is one of the moist laid back guys on earth. If this maggot had given him a chance, regardless of the charge, Ray would have treated him like a total gentlemen. We've worked on the same squad for years and around each other for much longer.

I still see him off and on in the area (works around my neighborhood).

I'm praying for a total recovery for both of them. Hopefully, this will convince Ray to take the drop $$ and haul arse!:thumbsup:

wow
 

I do not know what to say. bad news for everyone and their families. :nonod:

I'm very sorry to hear that. My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.

My brothers. Who runs to a fire fight? Only cops.

Yep...:thumbsup:

:(

Update
 

Jim, thanks for tha article. Not exactly the locations that my friend at the department told me for the POI on Lentz , but actually sounds like the shot may have been better this way?

Couple of points the article brings out:

That's the way it should be done! Dep. McCoy deserves (and I'm sure will eventually be awarded) a commendation!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

When the bullets were counted, investigators said deputies had fired more than 50 rounds.

That's 49 too many!!!!:(
This is an interesting commentary though. It proves a point.

I've seen Ray shoot.

As an instructor, I've had him on the range on numerous occasions over the years. He shoots well:thumbsup::thumbsup:

We've always tried to teach "stress shooting" and instill as much stress as possible in the sutdent/shooter, but there's no way possible to immitate a real life, I'm gonna die right here, shooting:NoNo:

Stress is a MOFO:(

Drugs? Rage? In this case, who knows? I've dealt with both and it's not easy to stop them.
Both can and will provide one with "superhuman" strength and fortitude. Another many years ago was shot 7 times from approximately 15' out to point blank range with a .45 semi auto. Still had enough fight left in him to violently attack an officer and continue to fight until he (the suspect) bled out:(

Glad McCoy put an end to him before he could hurt anyone else!

The series of events leading up to this were pretty predictable. Foreclosure, domestic disputes, pending divorce....it's a pattern.

Financial issues will bring out the worse in people and this type of stress can and will cause some people to snap. It's going to get worse beofe it gets better out here:thumbsdown:

On a final note, R.I.P. to the Firefighter. And God bless those paramedics.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Those guys and gals are worth thier weight in GOLD!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

I was able to speak with Ray Wilson this morning. He's home and doing fine and even says he still hasn't had any real pain from the gunshot would to the arm:thumbsup:

He's very blessed in that the suspect (now the deceased) was wrestling with him and trying to take his weapon. He did what he was trained to do and held on to the weapon through out the struggle and pain.

The 3rd deputy, we'll just say, put a quick end to the suspects action:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Dep Lentz is resting under guard at a local hospital and is according to Ray, is expected to make a full recovery.The rounds nicked his kidney and tailbone (never could remember the medical definition).

During our conversation, he confirmed that he recalled so many things from his past including things from his childhood (he's my age), and at one point, saw his deceased mother and father:(

He said he was ready for whatever God had planned for him, but wasn't about to give up the fight!!!

I passed on everyones well wished and congratulations for a job well done:icon_cheers::icon_cheers::icon_cheers:

Glad to hear they're doing well. We train and train and train for these things and something always seems to go wrong. I was thinking about it yesterday while I was on shift, how do you let that happen, but every scenario is different. We can just try to be ready....I've seen firsthand how officers get tunnelvision and deviate from training/policy when it hits the fan!

Me too man:(

In this case, it appears they did things pretty well textbook. This POS just wasn't going to let it go down with out a fight:(

He was hell bent on killing at least one deputy if not all of them, evidenced by his charge at Ray and attempt to wrestle the weapon from him.

You're right too. We all train for these scenarios but when it hits the fan....

I've been in the struggle for the weapon before. Armed robbery suspect, repeat offender. Wasn't going back to jail.

We fought for what felt like an hour (probably <5 minutes), all the time, he was trying to take my weapon.

Hindsight...should have shot him point blank in the chest. Not sure to this day why I didn't?

Damned! Hindsight! Always 20/20:nonod:

Just glad they're going to recover. All you folks still on the job, stay safe out there and watch out for each other:thumbsup:

murder
 

please thats enough.

Whats enough?

Unfortunately I along with several hundred other firefighters will attend a full honors fire department funeral for Captain Chris Artigas of the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Captain Artigas was one of the initial victims at the home where the shootings began.
I did not know Captain Artigas personally but just like the law enforcement community, it is a family and when one loss is encountered it sends a shockwave through the entire family.
I am relieved that the LEO's are recovering and doing well. At least they were able to take the necessary actions required to put an end to the ordeal.
Please keep the victims and their families in your thoughts and if you are in North Tampa on Wednesday and see a procession of fire apparatus, have a little respect and pull off the roadway. Not any people taqke the time to pullover anymore when a funeral procession drives by.
Thanks to all for your support.

Andy,

You guys have my total respect and admiration. LEO and the FF/PAramedic community share a relatively close bond. We've always had numerous FD members sho up at our funerals and I've even seen ladder trucks with banners hung from them.

You guys and gals are rtuly some of America's heros:usa_flag:. There's no way in hell I'm doing some of the stuff you guys do (I think you and I talked about that once at Fermans:thumbsup:).

Think about it? Who ran to the scene? The Firfighters/Paramedics:thumbsup:

Capt. Artigas is in my/our thoughts and prayers and a salute will go out to him as his procession passes by.

I was also informed on Sunday by a friend and another FF that the other young lady killed in the incident was the sister of Ray Lopez, another County FF:(

If this is true, then my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family as well.

R.I.P. Capt:usa_flag::(

? I assume you are refering to the attacks on LEO's.

Qman's a good guy and a firefighter here. He's also a man of few words;)
I'm sure he meant the MURDER of the Fire Captain and the sister of another FF.

Qman never means harm. he's one of us:thumbsup:

We just wanted clarification. The computer doesn't allow tone of voice and facial expresions so it's hard to understand what someone means sometimes. Especially on such a short response. I'm ok, just wondered what he meant is all.

^ what he said....

I know what you mean. I initially wondered too, but then i know him perosonally and it was easy for me to figure out.
Thats the down side to the internet:(

I spoke with him briefly via pm today. He's just grieving that's all, and he really is a dude of very few words.

They have a very tough day ahead of them tomorrow:(

grief
 

sorry all im just crying.

No apology nescessary.:nonod:

Thanks Gordon.
Great to see you.

I have said it before and will say it again. From the bottom of my heart, thank you LEOs, Paramedics and FireFighters for all you do to help us and keep us safe.
God Bless you All.

Andy, it was an honor to be there among such fantastic people.

I ran into guys that I've known for years and lost track of. And you guy's on the Honor Guard....you did a great job:thumbsup::usa_flag:

You did him proud bro:thumbsup:

Stay safe out there.

Gordon

better
 

Im better now thanks all. shadow thank you very much.

I would also like to tell all the paramedics, FF, cops and anyone else I missed in these fields....

That there are really no words to express how much you guys actually do to keep all the rest of us safe !!

I firmly believe it takes someone special to be able to handle these jobs
and I also believe they dont make enough money for the things they do.

And I know money is not the most important thing, but I am tired of people who put their lives on the line and in some cases lose their lives while on the line, barely being able to make ends meet.

(I know there are some people that are going to take that last line out of context.) But for the most part people understand what I am saying.


THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU !!!!

You are REAL heros !!!

well im a little late to this post but let me say im glad to hear that my fellow L.E.O.'s are recovering. as to the **** bag he got what he deserved. stress is a mofo. in fact when i have had high stress situations i can tell you its kinda like i black out I remember after everything that happened. we are trained and trained and trained and ............trained some more and its true you do revert back to your training its something that is burnt onto our brain for when we need it most. I know after training i feel yea like ill remember that ha(sarcasm), but you know in a high stress environment i actually do end up remembering everything. I understand how a situation as simple as a F.I.R. can lead to an oh **** scenario and there is a level of complacency that over time can over take how you do things like how your interview stance is if you even bother with it. I'm glad to hear things didnt end up worse. and ill pray for them and thier families.

Sonofavette,

I actually met with Ray (the one who took the round in the arm) about a week ago. I was working a case that he worked recently and he was going over the scene with me.
He is back to full duty and doing fine:thumbsup:

He said the other deputy is still out on medical leave and has some pain in his back etc from time to time, but does intend to return to duty. He has 364 days to return before they medically term or retire him.

Looks like both deputies are going to be fine...physically.

Ray and I have known each other a looooong time. We spent a lot of time that day, just talking...maybe just listening. He had and has a great attitude about the whole thing and is positive on the "i'm going home after the shift whether you do or not" thing:thumbsup:

One thing he mentioned is that when the 1st few rounds went wizzing by his head, all "conscious" training went out the window:lmao:

The Oh Sh!t This is real! factor took over and your subsconscious kicks in:thumbsup: Thus the reason for the repetitive training. For those that like to beotch about the redundancy...you might want to talk to those that have BTDT...

For the record, had he remained in his vehicle another 10 seconds or less, he'd be dead now. The first round went directly through the windshield at eye level, through the drivers seat headrest and out the back window, barely missing him even then.

Just wasn't his day to die...Thank God:thumbsup::thumbsup:

how did it all start as a traffic stop? I saw the story but havent read it and have heard a lot of people talking about it around work. the version i heard kinda sounded like it was a partial ambush?? im sure glad they are doing ok. im actually working right now. not much going on but im sure there will be something later.. its too quiet.

The gunman went to the home of his estranged wife (marital home), shot and killed her, a friend of hers and a Firefighter/Captain that was there off duty.

He fled the scene, the BOLO's went out and the deputies caught up with him at the scene of the shooting.

He started shooting without warning, exited his vehicle and continued to come toward the deputies even after they were shot.

He jumped on Ray and tried to wrestle away his weapon. Ray held on to his weapon until Malachi ran up to them and shot this POS in the freakin' head, leaving the suspect DRT (Dead Right There) and two deputies wounded but alive:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Unfortunately, everyone else this maggot shot including the firefighter and the friend, were all dead at the scene (IIRC).

Stay safe out there my friend. It's those "quiet nights" that'll get ya....ask me how I know?

ok how do ya know?

That was rhetoical mofo:toetap05: but in response...BTDT, got rid of the T-shirts:icon_cheers:

Rick, that's not indifferent brother and if you're concerned, there's no disrespect taken.:thumbsup:

Traffic stops are one of the more deadly yet routine duties and encounters a street officer will have during his/her day.

It's a totally unknown situation with "facts" that are yet to be determined.

As in the case of the first two (2) Oakland officers, a simple traffic stop yeilded a violent felony offender sworn not to return to jail.

I've been there and by the grace of God (or whom ever one believes in), was able to survive the encounter. But you don't know when it's going to happen and when it does, it happens quick!!!

As a retired motorcycle officcer, many times as in this case, we rode in pairs. Doing so you tend to adopt a false sense of security. That coupled with the hundreds of stops you make in a single week, the odds start to stack up against you.

The SWAT team deaths don't make sense to me? I know it happens and a good friend of mine was killed in Coco Beach while on a SWAT call out, just a short time after he and I trained on tactical entries at an IALEFI (International Assn. of L.E. Firearms Instructors) convention:( :mad:

Stuff happens and things go wrong. I'd really like to know what happened there?

The deputies in our county, as with Trooper Crooks, http://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/Memorial/Crooks.htm

killed by that child killing, cop hating POS Hank Earl Carr (was I unclear?-Anyone know where he's buried? I think I need to relieve myself!:mad:) knew what they were getting into. They knew there was a problem, but since mind reading isn't taught in the police academy, there's no way to have known that he would react so violently to being, in effect, out numbered and out gunned.

We're caught in the middle.

If we over react, we're bad, mean, overzealous thugs:NoNo:

If we fail to react porperly, we get medical leave and maybe, our familes get a properly folded flag and the kids get college:nonod::nonod:

Anyway brother, I know what you mean about the Oakland officers. As a retired Deputy and former motor officer, my heart goes out to thier families and loved ones.

As is inscribed upon our memorial, and as a tribute to the SWAT officers that died in the melee,

Quote:

"a greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his fellow man..."

R.I.P. gentlemenl:usa_flag: