SHOOTOUT AT THE COP SHOP

It may not be the shootout at the OK Corral, but I see the making of a TV episode. Two officers, male-female partners, bring a suspect to the cop shop. Suspect grabs male officer’s gun and is shot dead by female officer after he wounded her, her partner and another cop. Dramatic music, please!

You say it’s been done before on TV and in movies. Shit! So, at least in this case, life imitates art. And I thought I had the perfect script. What a bummer!

3 OFFICERS SHOT, GUNMAN DEAD IN NJ POLICE STATION SHOOTING
Gunfire erupted Friday morning by a man being held at the station, 3 officers expecting quick recovery

Associated Press
December 28, 2012

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A man being processed on a domestic violence charge grabbed a gun and shot and injured three officers at a police station in southern New Jersey before he was killed.

It happened at the Gloucester Township police station in Camden County.

Police say gunfire erupted inside the station at about 5:45 a.m. Friday.

As the man was being processed on the complaint, he grabbed a gun and began firing. Three officers were hit before the suspect was shot and killed.

Police Chief Harry Earle says two of the officers suffered graze wounds and were treated at a hospital and released. The third was hit twice in the leg and was undergoing surgery. Earle says he's expected to recover quickly.

UPDATE: Since more details (below) have been released, for my TV script I would have changed the circumstances by having the gunman take the male partner’s gun so that the female partner could come to everyone’s rescue.

NAMES RELEASED IN NJ POLICE STATION SHOOTING
Eddie Jones III overpowered Officer Ruth Burns inside the station, shooting her and two other officers

Associated Press
December 29, 2012

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A man who had been arrested for allegedly stalking an ex-girlfriend overpowered an officer inside a police station, grabbed her gun and shot her and two other officers before being killed by police early Friday, authorities said.

All three wounded officers were expected to recover.

Eddie Jones III, 39, of Willingboro, overpowered Officer Ruth Burns inside the station in Gloucester Township, a Philadelphia suburb, police said. He fired at her and two officers who had been in a nearby room and came rushing to aid their colleague. The two officers fired on Jones, killing him.

"This morning, the reality of a cruel world fell upon our doorstep," said Mayor David Mayer. "We thank God our officers are expected to fully recover."

Sgt. James Garber was shot multiple times and underwent emergency surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen; his life was saved by a bulletproof vest. He also suffered a graze wound to the head.

Sgt. Kevin Thine suffered a laceration to his abdomen and a graze wound to the chin. Burns was shot in the foot.

Jones, a civilian employee of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, had been arrested for stalking the home of a former girlfriend after a caller told police they saw a suspicious man lurking at about 1 a.m.

He was brought back to police headquarters and when his handcuffs were removed for a brief period during processing, he lunged at Burns, knocking her down and taking her weapon, police Chief Harry Earle said.

The suspect "unleashed a barrage of gunfire" at the officers, Earle said. Jones was struck multiple times by return fire and was pronounced dead at the scene, the chief said.

The shooting will be reviewed by the state attorney general, as is customary with all shootings involving police officers. But Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said initial evidence shows that the officers responded to gunfire that was initiated by the suspect, and returned fire to save their lives and those of other officers in the building.