Police shoot gunman who fired upon them

[TheeBadOne]

Cop guns man down in Atlanta

Officer Terry Stephens


A traffic stop in Atlanta's West End turned into a gunfight that ended with a police officer injured and a suspect dead Wednesday. Police apprehended a woman 40 minutes after she fled the scene.

At a news conference at Grady Memorial Hospital Wednesday afternoon, Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said the injured officer, Terry Stephens, is expected to survive.

Stephens, a 12-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department, and his partner, 16-year veteran Thomas Munson, pulled over a stolen Ford Taurus on Dill Avenue near Atlanta's West End just after noon.

Stephens put the driver in the back of his police cruiser and started questioning him while Munson questioned the female passenger. The driver was not handcuffed because he was not under arrest at the time.

A witness said a struggle ensued. Moments later, Stephens shouted to Munson, "He's got a gun!" and gunfire erupted, Pennington said. Authorities said the gun had been hidden under several layers of clothing that Stephens never noticed while padding down the suspect.

Stephens was shot four times. Officer Munson returned fire, killing the suspect at the scene. The female passenger ran from the scene but is now in police custody.

Stephens, who recently transferred to the auto theft unit, is listed in stable condition. Chief Pennington said Stephens had his body armor on, but the bullets struck above it.

He underwent surgery and is expected to recover fully.

The Taurus had been carjacked from Clayton County just last week, he said.

Munson has been placed on administrative routine, which is routine in police shootings.

article
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shot 4 times and is expected to survive. A testament to the will to live. Just because you're shot doesn't mean you're going to die. Believe that and it may save your life.

 

[critter]

"Padding down the suspect"???????????

 

[4v50 Gary]

Yep. One of the ten deadly sins that gets a cop killed: poor or no search.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

Authorities said the gun had been hidden under several layers of clothing that Stephens never noticed while padding down the suspect.

One, it's "patting," and two, the misplaced modifier makes it seem like Stephens failed to notice the layers of clothing.

Great writing.

 

[TheeBadOne]

Photo of the shooting scene

Photo of the shooting scene

 

[Devonai]

Four shots "above" his ballistic vest and he's in stable condition? Sounds like a small caliber pocket pistol to me. So considering how cold it's been lately, and the fact that the suspect wasn't under arrest, I can't criticize the officer.

Thank God the officer is going to be okay.

 

[c_yeager]

Talk about a lucky guy. From the sound of it i would say that the rounds lodged in his collar bone or shoulders or passed through he neck/face without hitting anything REALLY important. Definatly a bad situation to find oneself in. hope the guy gets better.

 

[SASHEA]

Officer Stephens

I have sent most of you a private message regarding your posts here.
I happened upon this post when I was trying to Google the article for someone. Officer Stephens is my husband, and he retired this past June after 14 1/2 years with APD. He is doing fine and I thank those of you who care.
For anyone who is judgmental about officers and the dangers they face on a daily basis, please do us all a favor and be sure you know the facts before shooting your mouth off. Ha...no pun intended.
Merry Christmas!

 

[Devonai]

I am very glad to hear that your husband is doing well. I'm sorry you had to go through such a hard time.

 

[David904]

Glad your husband is going to be alright. There's a Christmas gift to be thankful for. Best wishes to you and your family. And thanks to him for 14.5 years of service.

 

[El Tejon]

Glad he will recover. What was "the struggle" about? Do we know yet?

TBO, good to see you around.

 

[SASHEA]

Police Officers

Thank you so much for your generosity. In 14.5 years, he never had to draw his gun but once, and it wasn't this incident - he never even got a chance to get his own gun. But I'll tell you, if the officers and military personnel got more support and appreciation, and less lip service (and a whole lot more pay), that would be a blessing.

Anyway, sorry to bring up old news, but I saw some of those stupid comments and just had to speak up.

You have a wonderful Holiday/Merry Christmas too, and a safe and Happy New Year!

Cheryl Stephens

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Stephens, a 12-year veteran

When was that photo taken?

Crying out loud, he looks to be under 20 in that pic.

If I could work at a job with that much stress and look that good after more than 12 years on the job, I'd feel real good about myself.

One tough dude.

 

[SASHEA]

Struggle

"El Tejon" - Terry and his partner were on the auto theft squad and pulled over this vehicle as he was trying to avoid being seen. The guy had no ID on him so my husband patted him down (can't frisk someone if they aren't under arrest, and at that point, no one knew what was really up). While his partner, Tom Munson, questioned the female passenger, Terry ran the VIN. The vehicle turned up carjacked out of another county the week before. When Terry went to arrest the guy, he got a gun pulled on him. He dove for the gun instead of retreating or getting shot in the face, and they struggled for the gun in the back seat of the patrol car. The guy I think shot him first grazing the side of his head and he blacked out. At that point he was shot in the back of the neck (that bullet came out his underarm) then a bullet went thru the top of his chest (came out his lower back) and finally one went into his bicep and lodged in his elbow, fracturing his ulna. In the meantime, Tom came running back to the car, shoved my husband down and went into the car guns blazing. This perp was so high or something that it took many shots to kill him. Like I told one of the other post's, he had 43 hits of crack, 2 bags of dope, and 5 more bullets. He was also a career criminal with 2 prior assaults on a police officer and many drug arrests. The gun was a 38 snub nose. A woman identified it as the same gun that was put to her head when the perp, Mr. Britt, carjacked her black Ford Taurus from her. I'm glad my husband retired this past June.
Thanks for asking about the real story.

 

[SASHEA]

Photo

HAHA yes, that was the only pic they had on file. He was 24 in that picture, and I think it was taken in '94. He turned 38 in June of this year.

 

[El Tejon]

I see. Yes, a juijitsu match over a revolver is not a happy thing. Glad he is going to be fine and back with his family.

 

[silverking]

Sashea,
Thanks for telling of the events of that terrible day. My thanks goes out to you and your husband for his service and protection. Hoping the very best for your entire family and many happy years of retirement.

Have a Merry Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.

 

[Lupinus]

glad he is going to be fine and got one scumbag off the streets at least

 

[Headless]

Truly an amazing thing to survive being shot several times at that range in the upper chest/neck area with a .38spl and live. Best of wishes to you and your husband.

 

[.45FMJoe]

Oh wow, thank you for sharing the real story with us. I'm glad to hear your husband is well after being attacked like that. Tell him all of us here at The High Road say hello and he should stop by and chat every now and then...we love to hear good cop stories. Sure, there are some bad apples, but it's a public message board so that is inevitable. As a whole, THR is good people.

 

[R-Tex12]

Thanks for the details of the story, Sashea. And please extend my thanks to your husband for his service. My best wishes to you & your hubby, and I hope you both have a Merry Christmas.

Rick

 

[ripcurlksm]

Best wishes out to the Stevens family and a quick recovery.

I was pulled out of my car at a traffic stop and searched today. Somone stole/swapped my rear license plate with a car with similar model, and when the cop ran my plates it came back stolen. This all being unbeknownst to me, I followed my usual precedure when pulled over- keys out of ignition, hands on the wheel and the usual 'yes sir, no sir' with a smile. Lucky for me I did not put my front license plate on my car so it was in the trunk and I was able to prove that I was not in a stolen car, etc. I sat in the back of a cop car for about 20 minutes uncuffed (my first time ever, pretty scary back there). The LEO was professional and as respectful to me as I was to him. In the end I have to go to the DMV and get new plates... Kinda scary though, someone is driving around with my license plates commiting felonys.

 

[carebear]

Was this split off of another thread? Were some posts deleted?

I can't see any comments that qualify as "stupid" or even particularly critical.

Not big on the headline TBO used though.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Dear Mrs. Cheryl Stephens,
I thank God your husband Terry made it through the shooting and came out alive.

Far too often the Liberal News Media is fast to condemn Police Officers for shooting too soon. Shooting too slowly could cost an Officer his or her life. Everyone is quick to judge the Police but you rarely hear the outrage when a career criminal injures or kills a Policeman. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE when it should be shown????

It's a damn good thing Officer Thomas Munson reacted quickly, without questioning himself, and did what was necessary to save his partner's life. He should have gotten a medal for what he did but he probably got his weapon taken away and had to go in front of a Grand Jury instead.

Our Police Officers, Firefighters and Military Personnel are the protectors of out society. Too bad they don't get the respect and gratitude they deserve. I FOR ONE AM PROUD TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF THEM FOR WHAT THEY DO FOR US EVERY DAY. Please pass that on to him and and his co-workers.

God Bless Them All And Keep Them Safe!!! Merry Christmas

 

[SASHEA]

ArchAngel: Actually, Tom Munson is a very highly decorated officer, and yes, he did get a medal for saving my husband's life. He's actually now on the fugitive squad and gets to go anywhere in the country to find people. He's been on over 20 years and that perp who shot my husband was not the only guy he'd ever killed. He's an amazing officer and has never been questioned in any of those instances. They were all justified, but I talked to him and it bothers him a lot any time he has to do something like that. I swear...the perpetrators have more rights than the victims or cops nowadays.
But I can tell you, there are many cops that I know of that are power-hungry jackasses that think they are the hot topic because of the uniform. Whatever...those are the ones that give the good ones a bad name.