SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — “If it weren’t for the plates on that rifle, it would have been a story about an officer fatality,” Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott recalled.
Arnott said yesterday that while he was executing a warrant for Theodore Davis’ arrest, Davis entered his home and fired a rifle, shooting an officer in the back.
“The deputy is in good spirits. He has been released from the hospital. He is currently on administrative leave until the investigation is complete and then he will be given time to recover,” Arnott said.
The deputy was part of a fugitive apprehension unit, which Arnott said is one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement.
“We’re going after people who don’t want to get caught. They’re running from the justice system. They’re running from law enforcement,” Arnott said. “They’re trying to hide. They’re criminals because they committed a crime in the first place. That’s why we’re going after them.”
For Arnott, this was a first in his more than 30-year law enforcement career.
“In my 36 years with the police department, I’ve never seen an incident involving a rifle bullet,” Arnott said. “It doesn’t happen very often.”
While this may have been an isolated incident in Greene County, it is the latest in a dangerous trend of violent exchanges between officers executing warrants and suspects trying to stay out of jail.
In April, four police officers were shot and killed in North Carolina.
In February, three Washington DC police officers were injured while executing an arrest warrant.
Indiana and Wisconsin have seen mass shootings in the past.
“We’re seeing an increase across the country in people fleeing police or trying to evade arrest,” Arnott said. “Sometimes it involves gunfire or other types of weapons that they use every day. Police officers are assaulted every day while trying to detain someone.”
Arnott isn’t alone in this view.
“Executing search warrants has always been a risky activity for police,” said Jim Buehrman, director of the Institute for the Future of Policing and the Center for Policing and Artificial Intelligence. “There’s a reason these people are fugitives. They don’t want to go to prison, and if they get out of prison, they’re never going to come back.”
He said in some cases suspects may use rifles for specific reasons.
“There have been several incidents in the United States where police officers have been shot with rifles, which allow criminals to shoot police officers from much greater distances and with greater accuracy,” Buehrmann said.
Buehrman and Arnott said traditional bulletproof vests are useless against rifle bullets.
“Most of these vests are handgun compatible,” Buehrman said.
That’s why a Cook Family Foundation donation in 2021 could save a life three years from now.
“The Cook Foundation helped us purchase rifle plates,” Arnott said, “and that’s exactly what prevented this from happening by allowing us to get rifle plates that we wouldn’t have been able to purchase otherwise.”
OzarksFirst reached out to the Cook Family Foundation, which sent us the following statement:
“We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to make such an important and meaningful donation, and are pleased that our donation of rifle plates and shields provided law enforcement with the protection they needed. Providing tools to support our incredible law enforcement agencies is not only rewarding, but an honor.”
Arnott was able to show Ozarks First the difference between a traditional vest and a rifle plate vest.
“Here’s an example of a .223 bullet,” Arnott said. “This is the bullet that shot the deputy. This bullet is [the bulletproof] Putting the vest on doesn’t stop it at all. Now we talk about rifle plates. I’m just saying, this saved his life yesterday, and we’re refocusing on how we can get a lighter rifle plate.”
In addition to the local support, Arnott said there was also national support.
“we, [these situations] “Social media and news travels quickly,” Arnott said. “As soon as I was on the scene of this incident yesterday, I got a message from Washington, D.C., asking if the deputy involved in the shooting was OK.”
Arnott added that while situations like Monday’s often give the person inside an advantage, experience and training are a bigger advantage.
“We’re always on the reactive side. They know what actions they’re going to take, so they have the advantage in that respect. What the bad guy doesn’t take into account is that we’ve probably trained and thought about every action he or she could possibly take in advance,” Arnott said. “We train them up to date, we teach them mindsets, and we try to do everything we can to keep them out of harm’s way. In any stressful situation, the first thing you do is panic, but they did what they were taught in training.”
