5 rush to aid Miramar officer battling suspect in stabbings

Josey1

5 rush to aid Miramar officer battling suspect in stabbingsBy Vicky Agnew Staff Writer Posted January 15 2002 MIRAMAR ? Miramar police are crediting good Samaritans with saving the life of an officer who was shot with his own gun and stabbed Monday during a struggle with a violent suspect.Both the officer, Scott Hadley, 24, and another stabbing victim, Kia Petersen, 21, of Miramar, were in good condition late Monday at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Hadley has been with the department a year and is a patrol officer, Miramar Police spokesman Officer Bill Robertson said.Neither was available for comment Monday.According to police and witnesses, Norman J. Charles, 25, stabbed Petersen in the chest as she stood outside a businesses at Miramar Parkway Plaza at the intersection of University Drive and Miramar Parkway. He was fleeing when Hadley saw him about 10:35 a.m. riding his bike in the eastbound lane of the 7800 block of Miramar Parkway.When Hadley stopped his patrol car and confronted Charles, Charles lunged at him with a knife, Robertson said.Across the street, resident Alan Howard was in his home when he heard someone yell for help. He said he looked out his front window and saw only Hadley's car. He went outside and saw Charles and Hadley struggling."The [car] door was open, and he was on top of the officer," Howard said. "I noticed [Charles] was trying to pull the gun out of [Hadley's] holster."Howard said that as he got closer he also saw Charles wave a shiny object in front of Hadley's face and move it toward his neck."I saw the object go to his neck, so I reached around and grabbed it," he said. "I was just trying to keep the gun from coming out of the holster and the thing from going into his neck."But Charles took Hadley's gun out of the holster and fired it once, grazing Hadley in the right hip. He also stabbed Hadley in the left calf and shoulder, Robertson said.Howard, who suffered three cut fingers and a sliced tendon when he grabbed the knife, said he didn't know how long the struggle lasted. He said four other people ran over to help and together they wrestled Charles to the ground. By that time, other officers were on the scene, he added.Police charged Charles, of 7711 Indigo St. in Miramar, with attempted murder of a police officer, two counts of aggravated battery and one count of depriving a police officer of protection, Robertson said.Robertson said police knew of no motive in the stabbing of Petersen. She was at the shopping center applying for a job.Terrence Taylor, who works at Cellular Hut several yards away from where Petersen was stabbed, said he heard yelling and went outside to see what it was about. He said he saw Petersen standing up and bleeding from her chest. He said he helped her to the ground, placed a tissue over her wound and called 911.Another witness, who declined to give her name, said Petersen was not speaking but was conscious after the stabbing.Taylor said he sees Charles frequently riding his bicycle back and forth in front of Cellular Hut but has never known him to be violent.Two of Charles' neighbors on Indigo Street, just around the corner from where the struggle took place, said he lives alone. They said he wears numerous layers of clothing in warm weather, rides his bicycle frequently and never socializes with anyone."He keeps to himself and doesn't speak to anybody," said a neighbor who declined to give her name. "Sometimes I see him at Winn-Dixie begging for change and food."The incident prompted police to close the east- and westbound lanes of Miramar Parkway between Nassau Drive and Tarpon Drive for more than two hours.Robertson praised Howard and the others who stopped to help Hadley."The men and women of the Miramar police department are very appreciative and grateful for all the citizens who became involved," Robertson said. "We believe that without their assistance the officer's life would've been in grave danger."Howard, who received 19 stitches in his left hand, said he would help anyone who needed it."I didn't want to see anyone get hurt," he said. "I hope somebody would've done it for me."WFOR-TV Channel 4 contributed to this story.Vicky Agnew can be reached at vagnew@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7922. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-scop15jan15.story

badboybob

Mr. Howard has big cajones.

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PC=BS