Policeman Shot When He Pulls Over Suspected Drunk Driver
PALATKA, FL — A Palatka police officer is recovering at the hospital, after he was shot during a traffic stop.
The shooting happened on US-17 near the Beck Chrysler Jeep Dodge Dealership, near Old Jacksonville Hwy and North SR-19 around 8 p.m.
Officers say six-year veteran Police Corporal Pete Ruiz stopped a suspected drunk driver. When the officer approached the driver’s door, police say 39-year-old Paul D. Savage shot him one time in the left shoulder.
Police say Ruiz returned fire as Savage continued shooting. Savage took off in his car.
Another Palatka Police Officer, who was arriving as the shooting was in progress, began chasing the suspect. After a short chase, the suspect was stopped in the area of West River Road and State Road 17, approximately 5 miles from the original scene.
Savage ran into the woods, but was captured by Palatka Police Officers and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, with the help of a Palatka Police Department K-9.
Corporal Ruiz was flown to Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment of a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He is in stable condition.
Savage was taken to Putnam Community Hospital for treatment of injuries he received from the
K-9 and is currently being booked into the Putnam County Jail by Putnam County Detectives.
Source: First Coast News
Shooting a police officer to get out of a DUI is the sensible thing to do, right? I suppose that we’ll find out later he had a body in the trunk, just committed an armed robbery, or had a warrant out against him.
I could be too hasty in overlooking drunk and stupid.
Update: Drunken shooter was a North Carolina man.
