Dennis Guider Jr was recently sentenced to five years in prison for a 2021 incident that severely injured Carrol, IA Officer Patrick McCarty. Body camera footage released for the trial tells the dramatic story of what started as a traffic stop during which McCarty learned there was an arrest warrant for Guider. Guider began to drive away as the officer was in front of the suspect’s car despite McCarty’s drawn weapon and commands to stop the car.
As the suspect continued forward, McCarty ended up on the hood of the car and eventually clinging to the car’s roof as it accelerated being pursued by assisting officers. With McCarty holding on for life and still commanding the driver to stop, the vehicle went off the road to avoid a passing train, driving into an industrial area and crashing across a deep ditch which threw the officer off. McCarty suffered a broken vertebra in the fall but has since returned to duty.
A New Mexico Deputy in Sierra County and a New Mexico State Police Officer stopped to offer assistance and check on the well-being of a young man on a highway south of Truth Or Consequences. Abraham Quezada was reported to have been hopping in and out of vehicles, which included an ill-fated bounce from a vehicle into the bed of a passing pickup, then onto the pavement.
Body camera footage shows the deputy asking Quezada, injured from his pavement encounter, questions about his injuries. The man gave short, reluctant, and vague answers then continued to walk down the roadway with the deputy following until the state officer arrived as a backup. Quezada admits to being under the influence of LSD, then dashes toward the deputy’s vehicle and stole it, crashing into the state police car. Quezada was extricated from the crash and taken into custody.
In Putnam County, FL a driver attempting to outrun deputies apparently got lost on the back roads and drove into a cattle gate and fence, backed up and rammed a deputy’s vehicle, then drove his truck into the marsh nearby. The 25-year-old suspect, identified as Austin Daniel Cox, had already rammed a police vehicle in an adjoining county which had provoked the pursuit. Taking a lesson from Rambo, Cox covered himself with mud to blend in with his soggy environment as camouflage from the cops, but could not camaflouge his scent from police K9 trackers. Cox was a previously convicted felon released from prison in 20201. He was subsequently arrested for the assaults and resisting, in addition to possession of trafficking amounts of methamphetamine and a sawed-off shotgun.
In another Florida case of hide and seek, yet another suspect with a criminal record was fleeing from ramming a law enforcement officer’s patrol vehicle. This time it was Ryan Lee Pope who fled to a home and hid behind a makeshift fake wall. The U.S. Marshals assisted in the hunt.
A weekend of family fun in Tinley Park, IL, a village suburb of Chicago, was scheduled as the Armed Forces Weekend Carnival but a flash mob of over 400 teens summoned through social media got the event shut down by police. Bystander video shows chaos and random fights from the invading crowd. One police officer was injured and several persons were taken into custody or cited in the melee.
A Detroit police cruiser was damaged as officers attempted to crack down on a street takeover by over 30 ATVs and mini-bikes downtown. Drivers were operating recklessly on the streets and sidewalks when one ATV crashed into the patrol car. The driver fled but was arrested after a short foot chase. No other arrests were made at officers attempted to clear the area.
In Alachua County, FL, body cam footage shows police kicking in the door of a residence where a reported stabbing had been reported and the suspect refused to exit the home. The bloodied victim was able to be extracted, then the suspect, Omar J. Gutierrez, who was at the time, for unknown reasons, dressed as a kitty.
Continuing with the costume theme, a Kansas man was arrested for driving drunk by Franklin County officers patrolling I-35 about an hour from Topeka. Body camera video shows the driver doing roadside sobriety tests dressed as a can of Bud Light beer as part of his Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Police officers get a lot of training and amass years of experience, but the unexpected eventually surprises even the veterans among them.