[narrator] In Ohio, a mother's worst nightmare...
[woman speaking]
[James] Not knowing if your kid's okay,
it would be terrifying.
-[James speaking] -[woman speaking]
-[bleep] -[gun fires]
[James speaking]
[narrator] In Texas, a high speed pursuit...
It looked like there's no way that anybody could survive it.
[operator speaking]
I know someone's in here.
I've got to get them out now.
[operator speaking]
[narrator] ...and a traffic stop in Georgia.
[officer speaking]
This one is about to get dangerous.
He was obviously a bad individual
that was very desperate to get away.
[indistinct chatter]
[narrator] In Ohio, northeast of Dayton,
is the suburb of Riverside.
[line ringing]
[operator speaking]
[woman speaking]
[operator speaking]
[woman speaking]
[operator speaking]
[Matthew] We were running minimum crew that night.
We had three people.
So I was dispatched as well as Sergeant Vance and Officer Perfetti.
We don't run lights and siren to those
because we don't want to scare the burglar off.
I knew I was the closest officer to respond to the call.
Our other officers were down south
were several minutes away from 'em.
The dispatcher that's relaying this information,
I learned that her daughter was like nine years old.
That's when I see a female that was standing in the road waving me down.
-[woman speaking] -[James speaking]
[woman speaking]
-[James speaking] -[woman speaking]
-[gun fires] -[bleep]
[James speaking]
[gun fires]
-[woman speaking] -[man speaking]
[girl speaking]
[James speaking]
[James] She is very hysterical
because her daughter was inside this residence with this person with a gun.
As a father, I can put myself in that position
and not knowing if your kid's okay, you know,
it would be a very, you know, terrifying moment.
But when I first saw the gunman,
he came out of the residence
and he was wearing a light colored surgical mask on his face.
And when he saw me, he immediately started shooting.
Thought, you know, I was grazed or hit or
something in the left side of my jaw.
It was a very terrifying moment.
And I'm just trying to return fire.
I was definitely afraid for the female caller and myself.
I've never, you know, been shot at.
I was very concerned with the safety of the people that was inside,
especially knowing that there was a child inside the residence.
[girl speaking]
[James] Her daughter come out of the house.
She was able to kind of move the duct tape
and she was able to get to the mom and her husband comes out.
[man speaking]
-[James speaking] -[man speaking]
[James] The suspect runs back in the neighboring yard,
running away from the scene.
The suspect is a very dangerous individual.
So the likelihood of him,
you know, going into another residence
or trying to carjack someone
to take their vehicle was very high.
[James speaking on radio]
[Matthew] When I heard Sergeant Vance come over the radio
and say, "Shots Fired,"
I remember it being a really kind of a chilling moment
because you don't hear it very often.
Now we need to get there.
Is Sergeant Vance okay? Is the victim okay?
Lights, siren, pedal to the floor,
get there as fast as you can.
[James] I did get in my cruiser
and I drove around the block
to try to contain the suspect.
If he's willing to shoot at a police officer,
this individual had to be stopped at any cost.
[James speaking]
Officer Perfetti called out on the radio
that he could see the suspect running
and that he ran down a particular driveway around the corner.
[James speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
[James] I was very relieved once Officer Perfetti got there.
It was a lot safer for both of us.
And then if he does come out,
there's, you know, two officers,
two guns versus, you know, one on one.
My heart rate is, you know, elevated.
You know, I'm breathing very heavy
because, you know, it was just like an adrenaline dump.
It's at nighttime. You got limited vision.
You don't know if they're continuing to run or set up to ambush you.
[phones vibrates]
[operator speaking on radio]
[James] I was just trying to, you know,
keep on going till we had other people there to protect everyone.
[Perfetti speaking]
[James speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
[James speaking]
[James] There was all kinds of emotions that I went through,
of being, you know, angry, you know, afraid.
-[Perfetti speaking] -[James speaking]
[James] Officer Matthew Jackson arrived on the scene
and he set up a perimeter
that would have been on the north side.
[Matthew] Anytime you have a person
that's willing to go to the level of shooting at the police,
it doesn't matter where they go,
it's always gonna be dangerous.
There's always the potential for an ambush.
[siren wailing]
[Perfetti speaking]
-[gun fires] -[Perfetti speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
-[Matthew speaking] -[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew] So when I hear the gunshot,
I know that this guy is not jumping fences anymore.
He's... he's right here, right in this area.
Is he shooting at Officer Perfetti?
Is he shooting at Sergeant Vance?
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew] Did he just break into a house?
Is he shooting at family members?
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew] Did a family member shoot at him?
[Perfetti speaking]
[indistinct chat on radio]
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew] At this point in time,
the Dayton Police Department had arrived.
[female office on radio]
[James speaking on radio]
[Matthew speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew] Our ultimate goal is to end the situation peacefully.
We can talk to him.
We can use the... the hostage negotiation team.
We can use gas munitions. We can use beanbags.
We can use all kinds of different tactics to try and... to try
and get this guy to come out alive.
There's no sense in us going back there
and him shooting it out with us.
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew speaking]
-[Perfetti speaking] -[Matthew speaking]
[Matthew] There's a lot of adrenaline going on in this situation.
-[Perfetti speaking] -[Matthew speaking]
[James speaking]
[Matthew speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
[Matthew speaking]
[Matthew] As we're coming around the corner,
we're pieing it out,
pieing the corner.
So you go around the corner and kind of take it at a wide angle.
So you're taking, like, slices of the pie.
You're just... you're...
you're making the area smaller as you come around
and you're making yourself less of a target.
So that if the suspect is trying to ambush,
we would see him before he saw us.
[James speaking]
-[Matthew speaking] -[James speaking]
[Matthew speaking]
[James speaking]
[Matthew] I saw the suspect lying on the ground.
Is he dead or is he waiting for us to get closer
so that he can shoot us?
[officer speaking]
[Matthew] When we got close, we did.
It was obvious that there was a single gunshot wound to the head.
It is sad that, you know, it had to end this way,
but that's the choice that he made.
It's not something that we did to him.
I did have a sense of relief.
The situation is over.
[Perfetti speaking]
[officer speaking]
[James speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
-[James speaking] -[Perfetti speaking]
Initially, I wasn't 100% sure if I shot him or not.
[Perfetti speaking]
-[James speaking] -[Perfetti speaking]
[James speaking]
[James] Just a multitude of emotions
that I went through with this.
Because there was someone that that lost their life that didn't have to.
[Perfetti speaking]
-[James speaking] -[Perfetti speaking]
[James speaking]
When I last seen Sergeant Vance,
he seemed like he was in shock.
-[James speaking] -[Perfetti speaking]
[James speaking]
[Perfetti speaking]
I wanted to tell Sergeant Vance
that he didn't kill the suspect.
I knew that it would be a relief to him because...
no cop wants to kill somebody.
No cop wants to shoot somebody.
No cop wants to hurt anybody.
So I knew that it would be a sense of relief to him,
and maybe it would bring him out of his state of shock.
[narrator] 39-year-old Kevlin Wallace
is pronounced dead at the hospital.
Authorities believe Wallace posed as a delivery driver
before holding the family at gunpoint.
His motive is unclear, but prior convictions
include kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
The caller's daughter and fiancee were unharmed.
[James] I wished I could have had five minutes to speak with Wallace
to be able to try to talk him down.
Hopefully, I could have convinced him,
you know, to see different paths.
This was the last, you know, outcome I wanted to see happen.
I mean, it's sad if anybody takes their life,
no matter what happens.
I mean, he needs to be held accountable for his actions.
But, you know, still yet he's still a human being.
You're on, you know... it's made me a stronger person.
It's, you know... I try to be more compassionate
and try to see the different aspects on people's lives,
just how desperate, you know, they can be.
[narrator] In Texas, six miles north of Fort Worth
is the suburb of Haltom City.
[Shelby] Grew up in the fire service.
My dad's a firefighter, so I became a firefighter and EMT.
I did that for six years
and then decided I could give more and became a police officer.
I was in second phase of training.
[siren wailing]
[Shelby] Corporal Hudson made a call over the radio
that she was behind a possible drunk driver.
And my training officer looked at me and she said,
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
[siren wailing]
[Shelby] I had yet to be in a pursuit.
My first feeling was complete anxiety.
I was terrified.
I'm still learning how to control the vehicle
while driving at fast speeds.
At that point, I was so far back in the pursuit.
It was mostly me getting there in a safe manner,
making sure that I was yielding at lights,
not just flying through intersections,
trying to catch up to them.
[indistinct chatter on radio]
Officer Barton announced that
he was heading north on Denton Highway.
They were going really fast down the road,
and I was pretty close.
[Barton speaking]
[narrator] The suspect's vehicle stops
after the devastating collision with a Dodge truck.
The pursuit becomes a rescue mission.
[Shelby] Officer Barton announced over the radio
that an accident had occurred.
And in my mind, I knew I needed to catch up to them.
[Shelby speaking]
[narrator] Other officers approach the suspect's vehicle.
[officer speaking]
[Shelby] When I pulled up, I could see the car in flames.
It was a horrible accident
and the thought of this person's dead was a real possibility.
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] There are so many dangers
that I had a little bit more experience on just being a firefighter.
With an engine compartment fire as large as it was,
a fire extinguisher is not going to stop it.
All you're doing is cooling it down
enough to postpone the explosion.
You don't know if fuel's already on the ground.
I knew that we didn't have a lot of time at all.
You can't see anything.
It was 100% by feel.
And I remember thinking, okay, that's the seat too, that's the steering wheel.
There's the radio.
And, oh, hey, what's that?
And then moving further up and realizing this is an arm.
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] We were yelling out and nobody was answering back.
But in my mind, whoever was in that car
had to have already been passed out from smoke inhalation.
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] Officer Underwood was able to reach inside
and realize that the seatbelt was still activated.
So somebody was still in the driver's seat of the car.
He used a knife to cut the seatbelt off.
[officer speaking]
[Shelby] I had my hand on the person,
but I was taking in so much black smoke, I couldn't breathe.
So I had to turn around to cough.
And when I reached back into the driver's seat...
that person was gone.
And so I was just feeling around
and I couldn't feel anybody.
And that's when I just decided,
I know someone's in here,
I've got to get them out now.
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] And I just jumped forward.
[Shelby speaking]
[Zachary] We initially came up and saw the situation,
it looked like there's no way
that anybody could survive, the vehicle
had been crushed like a can and fully engulfed in flames.
Just a smoke filled cabin. You couldn't see anything.
At the same time, you could see the flames were getting bigger.
[officer speaking]
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] I just reached around
and I could finally barely feel her arm
as she was sitting in the floorboard
of the passenger side of the car.
And I just grabbed hold as tight as I could
and just yanked with all my might backwards.
[Shelby speaking]
[woman screaming]
[Zachary] I was able to throw her arm over my shoulder
and just pull as hard as we could.
[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] And all I kept thinking was, she's screaming,
that means she's alive.
That's okay.
[woman screams]
[Shelby] Good, good, good.
[woman screaming]
[Zachary] The driver was actually fighting to try to get away.
I guess she thought we were trying to hurt her or something.
[woman screaming]
Her legs were still inside the car
and I ran my hands down her legs.
And that's when I realized that her foot
was tangled in the steering wheel.
And so Officer Taylor was yanking,
but they weren't going anywhere
because she was physically stuck.
[Shelby] Good, good, good.
[woman screams]
We're able to back her up a little bit,
enough for me to pull that foot out.
[Shelby speaking]
[explosion]
[Shelby] From the moment her feet hit the ground,
there was seven seconds.
Seven seconds until the entire passenger compartment exploded.
[officer speaking]
[woman sobbing]
[woman] Stop, stop, stop it!
[officers] Go, go, go!
[woman] Stop! Stop!
[Shelby speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Shelby speaking]
[woman speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Shelby speaking]
[woman speaking]
[Shelby speaking]
[siren wailing]
[Shelby] By the time we turned around,
that car is fully engulfed in flames.
We can't get to them.
So whoever else was in that car was dead.
And that...
that feeling was horrible,
that how could we have not known
there was another person in there?
[officer speaking]
[Zachary] The suspect wasn't able to put up a fight or anything,
and he was taken into custody.
[officer speaking]
[man speaking]
[siren wailing]
[officer speaking]
[Shelby] And I just realized that, okay,
she's moving around a lot
and my medical training just kind of kicked in
of you were just in a horrible car accident.
I need to protect your C spine,
I need to make you stop moving
or else you're gonna hurt yourself further
because your adrenaline is so high right now,
you don't realize how badly you're hurt.
I squatted down in front of her
and tried to make eye contact with her
and just got her to focus on her breathing for a second,
enough to calm her down.
Once I got her to calm down
was when we were able to find out more information.
Her name.
[Shelby speaking]
-[woman] What? -[Shelby speaking]
-[woman speaking] -[Shelby speaking]
[Shelby] We realized she was distraught
and had a major head injury
and she thought she was still at work.
And holy crap, there's not anybody else in the car.
She was in the car alone.
She was heading home.
She was turning into her apartment complex when she got hit.
With my medical background,
I knew she was more injured than most of the officers saw.
When I did my initial assessment on her,
I could feel how swollen her head was.
I knew something was going on,
even though she didn't really look injured.
And it wasn't until later that night
that we learned that she was severely injured
and that she had multiple skull fractures and brain bleeds.
My immediate thought was that she wasn't gonna make it.
And it wasn't until a few days later that we learned that,
you know, she... she had taken a turn for the better.
[narrator] Charles Keisling
is found guilty of intoxicated assault
with a vehicle and evading arrest.
He is sentenced to three years incarceration.
The victim recovered from her injuries and returned to work.
[Shelby] It was weird for me
feeling like a firefighter back on scene
trying to get her out of the car
and then back to police once she was safely in EMS hands.
It wasn't until I reviewed body camera footage
that I realized how close I was...
to being inside in that car with her when that car exploded.
I received what's called
the RISE Award from the Women of Law Enforcement Conference.
I also received a Medal of Valor from my department.
[Zachary] And everybody was standing next to a car
that was seconds from going up in flames.
So it was inspiring to see
the caliber of officers that I work with.
[Shelby] She is able to walk around
because not one of us hesitated that day.
We all were willing to go the extra mile
to get her out of that car.
[narrator] 35 miles northwest of Atlanta
is the suburb of Cumming, Georgia.
On that day, I was at the intersection of two state routes
just watching traffic.
I saw a van. when I ran the tag, the tag comes back expired.
I made a quick phone call to Deputy James Roberts,
who I knew was close by in the area.
And I said, I'm about to do a traffic stop.
I think it's gonna be productive.
Go ahead and start my way.
[James Roberts] He was going to need another set of eyes on scene.
You know that there's something more to the stop.
Something's triggered him needing an additional deputy.
Something needs to be investigated a little further.
[Richard] As soon as I got behind the van,
he makes that right turn,
even prior to my blue lights coming on
into an O'Reilly's Auto Parts store parking lot.
I positioned my vehicle behind the van.
The driver had exited the vehicle.
[Richard speaking]
[Richard] I call out to him with that prompt to him to come back to me.
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
[Richard] His comment about buying antifreeze was unusual.
It doesn't freeze in Georgia in May.
-[Richard speaking] -[man speaking]
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
[indistinct chatter]
Nervousness like this guy
was exhibiting is not normal
when you're unable to stand still.
He actually walks back to the van.
And at this point, the... the female passenger
gets out of the van.
So I'm trying to keep an eye on her.
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
[Richard speaking]
Every time his hand comes out of his pocket at that point,
it makes me concerned that we're about to be presented with...
with a gunfight.
I'm not sure why it's about to get dangerous,
but this one is about to get dangerous.
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
[Richard speaking]
-[man speaking] -[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
[Richard speaking]
He mumbled some stuff that I couldn't make out
what he was saying.
Really abnormal response to a simple request for a driver's license.
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
-[Richard speaking] -[man speaking]
[Richard speaking]
[Richard] When I radio code 11,
that is our radio code for,
you know, second unit,
but it's not in an emergency standpoint.
[Tyler] Another detective and I,
Detective Haff, we hear Lieutenant Thompson
call out for non-emergency backup
just down the street from where we were at that time.
[Richard speaking]
[man speaking]
He made a comment that the... the van belonged to his cousin.
And as he's making those comments,
he's walking around the back of the van
going toward the driver's door.
[Richard speaking]
-[man speaking] -[Richard speaking]
I know there is more than one person in the van.
What their intent is?
I don't have any idea about that.
[Richard speaking]
Then he starts going swiftly toward the driver's side door.
-[man speaking] -[Richard speaking]
As I reach out to grab the door,
the driver's side rear door of the van starts sliding open.
[Richard] Stop! Whoa! Get down, get down.
[Richard] A male subject
that appears to be trying to get out of the van.
[Richard speaking]
I'm trying to stay focused on what the driver is doing
while trying to assess who are these people,
where are they going, and what's their intent.
[Richard speaking]
That's where my training in SWAT really paid off,
because I've been in that situation in training a thousand times.
There's people going everywhere,
and we're trying to figure out
if somebody needs to be engaged with deadly force or not.
The level of adrenaline in this scene was up.
As I go around the back of the van,
the driver at this point has got the van in reverse.
[Richard speaking]
[Richard] I see that he is backing up toward me.
Now we're right back up to a shoot or no shoot decision.
[Richard speaking]
[woman speaking]
[Richard speaking]
[woman speaking]
[James Robert] I observed a white van
exiting the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
I recall both sliding doors were open.
I didn't know what had happened,
but I knew I had to turn around and pursue that vehicle.
Detective Haff jumped out of the car to go assist Lieutenant Thompson.
Even though my car is at that time was unmarked,
it had blue lights and siren in it.
So I activated my emergency equipment, pursued the vehicle.
[James Robert] We approached the intersection
of which we had a red light
and the subject failed to stop for the light
and continued through a red light.
[James Robert speaking]
[James Robert] He wound up jumping a curve
and going down an embankment.
It was definitely a risk to the community
and I wanted to get it ended as quick as possible.
[James Robert speaking]
As the driver had fled the scene,
Detective Haff and I are now speaking with the passengers.
[man speaking]
[woman speaking]
[Richard] Detective Haff and I,
actually, we're able to talk to them
and find out that they were working at a nearby strawberry farm.
[Richard speaking]
[woman speaking]
[Richard] We were asking for identification.
We enter them into our state system,
and we learn that the female
that got out of the front passenger side seat,
she has an active warrant,
so she is arrested and taken to jail.
[Tyler] At this point, it was just the suspect and myself.
Deputy Roberts, had fallen back a little bit because of the traffic.
[James Robert speaking]
[James Robert] When you're pursuing a vehicle,
you're constantly evaluating the danger to the public.
Speeds, the time of day,
any construction, school zones in the area, what the charges are?
Why is this guy trying to flee so bad?
I looked in the rearview mirror
and saw that Deputy Roberts
was catching back up to us at that time.
[Tyler speaking on radio]
[James Robert] I stayed with the suspect.
We... our speeds were approximately close to 100 miles an hour.
[Tyler] We didn't know why he was running.
We just knew that
he was obviously a bad individual
that was very desperate to get away.
[Tyler speaking on radio]
[James Robert] The suspect
suddenly turned right on to Bethel Road.
[Richard] Bethel Road is a dead end street.
So in my mind, I know that we're gonna have
some kind of conclusion here pretty soon.
[James Robert speaking]
[James Robert] He hit the embankment,
which was ditched at a high rate of speed.
And I recall watching the driver
literally bounce out of the driver's seat
from hitting that embankment so hard.
[siren wailing]
[officer speaking]
[Tyler] We jump out of the vehicle
with our guns drawn
and order him out at gunpoint.
We didn't know if he was or he wasn't armed.
We didn't know what he was capable of
or what he was gonna do.
But we were certainly planning for the worst.
[officer speaking]
[Tyler] He just complied with our commands.
Uh, he crawled out of the driver's seat
and just lay down on the ground and gave up.
I maintained lethal cover with my pistol
while Deputy Roberts approached and placed suspect in handcuffs.
I asked him what was going on?
Why he was fleeing?
And he really didn't say much.
After I placed him in my patrol car,
we focus our attention to the van.
[James Robert speaking]
We did find a .40 caliber pistol near the driver's seat.
We also found some marijuana.
And then also we found a .30 round magazine
that went with the pistol.
When we found that, our first thoughts are
this guy had some bad intentions.
[Richard speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Richard speaking]
You really think about how dangerous it actually was.
My opinion is he was trying to find a gun.
[narrator] The suspect is Jeremiah Reeves,
a convicted felon.
The white minivan he was driving was reported stolen.
The driver was found guilty of possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon, theft by receiving a stolen vehicle,
fleeing and attempted to elude a police officer
as well as possession of marijuana.
[narrator] Jeremiah Reeves was sentenced to 15 years,
three of which to be spent in jail,
the rest on probation.
The other passengers were cleared
of any wrongdoing and released.
[James Robert] At all traffic stops,
you've got to keep your guard up and, you know,
pay attention and be aware
that can go 0 to 90 at any moment.
[Richard] Stop! Whoa! Get down, get down.
I'm glad that we had competent guys
that came to back me up that were close.
So just luck of the draw,
just right place, right time on the backup officers.
So we got... we got super lucky and blessed in this situation.