Parolee almost kills cop with a knife

[TheeBadOne]

Officer Risks His Life To Nab Parolee
Retired Firefighter Tackles Suspect

SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco police officer is counting his blessings Friday after making a routine traffic stop that almost cost him his life, NBC11's Lisa Beckett reported.

"I'm riding my bike basically in the center of Columbus Avenue. It took me a second and then it clicked in my head and I recognized him thinking, 'Oh, he's on parole,'" said officer Tom Costello, the 6-year veteran, who had arrested the same man just a few months ago.

"So, I catch-up with him right around the ATM machines ... and I stopped him," he said.

But, what happened next was hardly routine.

"I told him to remove his hands and that's when he reached in his pants and grabbed a knife. He saw me go to draw my gun and that's when he tossed the knife (at my body) ... Then, he took off running this way," Costello said.

Without even thinking, the officer gave pursuit. He chased the parolee for several city blocks before a retired fireman helped tackle 36-year-old Ernie Campbell.

"Adrenaline kicked in, I threw the knife down. All I wanted to do was catch this guy," Costello said.

It wasn't until the pursuit was over when Costello noticed his bulletproof vest blocked the suspect's 8-inch knife from killing him.

http://www.nbc11.com/news/2515499/detail.html
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Yikes! Sounds like the knife actually stuck the officer, only his vest caught most of it!
Many people know the 21 foot rule, but how many ever think that a person with knife may be able to throw it with enough skill to stick you?
A knife in the hand is dangerous, a knife in the air.....

 

[Standing Wolf]

Oh, he's on parole...

Probation and parole: the gifts that keep on giving.

 

[Mark Tyson]

Anyone who throws a knife at you most likely isn't exactly a master knife fighter, unless he's mastered the rather obscure art of knife throwing. That knife would have been much more dangerous if he'd wielded it and lunged at the officer.

 

[Hypnogator]

I guess this is a good time to ask: Has anyone ever come across a documented case of a thrown knife killing someone? Oh, sure, we see it in movies all the time, but can anyone actually document that it ever really happened?

Mind you, a thrown knife would certainly qualify as a "means likely to cause death or serious bodily injury," and using deadly force to prevent someone from chucking a knife at you would be justified, but I'm wondering what realistic degree of danger would be involved.

 

[jsalcedo]

I practiced throwing knives and full sized axes for a while.

Finally I was able to consistantly imbed a 5 inch boot knife into a 4x4 fence post to the point where it was difficult to pull out.

The knife has to be decently balanced.

It is possible the guy was proficient with throwing knives and could have killed or seriously wounded the officer.