Shooting

http://baynews9.com/content/36/2006/5/26/160710.html

Thank God he's okay. Another fine example...there is NO reason why we should not all be 2-man cars.

Yes there is, I don't want you in my car

From a LEO south of you: I hope your officer is doing ok. I see the law enforcement side of the justice system worked just fine lastnight.

FROM ALL OF US AT ST. PETE P.D., WE WISH THE OFFICER A SPEEDY AND SAFE RECOVERY.

AND FOR THOSE INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING OF THE SUSPECT, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS

I'm still getting bits and pieces from people about what took place with the shooting. The most important thing is that Wilkerson is doing good, couldn't be more happy to hear that. As for the TPD on scene at the gas station, what a great job. Those are kind of people i'm glad to work with.

Great Job TPD!!! Get well soon Wilkerson

Great Job TPD. Glad everyone is ok excluding others of course but just the same. Youre going home. :D

Sarasota SO

Wayne and Debbie are the best husband/wife team TPD has ever had!

[Maverick]

I just wanted to remind everyone that we need to ride by our squad members traffic stops. If your T58 or 56ing near a S50 please just ride by. This shooting has really opened my eyes after 14 years of service.

Thanks to all the officers involved in this incident. You all did a FINE job! God Bless

[Corporal]

Officer.com

Tampa, Florida-- Officer James Wilkinson conducted a traffic stop on the suspect at 42nd Street and Powhattan Avenue around 1:30 a.m. As the officer approached the 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the suspect opened fired with a 357 Revolver. Officer Wilkinson was shot one time in the chest at 1:34 a.m.


The bullet pierced his shirt, a spiral notepad, and the vest. The vest slowed down the bullet and saved Officer Wilkinson's life. He suffered a superficial chest wound. Officer Wilkinson called for help on his police radio. He was then transported to Tampa General Hospital. He is expected to be released late morning.


After the shooting, Tomas Montesdeoca fled from the scene. TPD launched a massive search for the suspect. He was spotted pulling into a gas station at 4511 East Hillsborough Avenue. Three officers approached the truck. When Montesdecoa raised his gun, all three officers fired. The suspect was shot and died at the scene at 2:11 a.m. Montesdecoa has an extensive criminal history. He was on probation and under a Domestic Violence Injunction that forbade him from having a firearm when he shot Officer Wilkinson.


The three officers who fired at Montesdeoca are on paid administrative leave which is standard operating procedure with a police shooting. Sgt. Debra Hutches is a 16-year veteran. She serves on the plain clothes Street Anti Crime Unit. Cpl. Wayne Hutches a 17-year veteran. He serves as a Patrol Corporal and is a member of the Tactical Response Team. Officer Charles Hathcox has served as an officer for three and a half years. He worked as a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper for six years.


The incident is under investigation by the Tampa Police Department Shoot Team, the Internal Affairs Bureau and the Hillsborough County State Attorney Office.

We need to get rid of ALL of our Second Chance vests. Our level 2 vests should stop a .357 magnum round, even if it's a contact shot. That's the criteria that the NIJ uses when they rate the vests. If the round penetrated the vest, then there is a design flaw that needs to be addressed. Thankfully everything turned out fine for the officer, but the outcome could have been different.

Just a little correction on the newspaper article. SAC Officers, M. Jacobson and M. Tregoe located the suspect as he was driving down Hillsborough Avenue. They did an excellent job of spotting the vehicle and relaying the information calmly over the radio.

Excellent point about the 2 man cars.......there are alot of them now, but there needs to be many more.

Excellent point about the 2 man cars.......there are alot of them now, but there needs to be many more.

does anyone know if the officer that got shot had a video camera in his car??? that would be a great training tool or at least watch it for a "wake up call" during in service training.

I for one don't want to see one of our own officers getting shot at in-service training. The shooting itself is the wake-up call. We don't need a bunch of Monday morning quaterbacks viewing a video if there is one.

Well, we used to be able to ride 2 man, but no longer. Our wonderful Major insist on having no 2 man units if there is an empty zone. (It's not like we didn't take care of calls for service on our own if 1 or 2 zones were empty.)

The Major states that if there still isn't enough Officers on a squad that day then a Cpl will be assigned that zone.

In short, don't worry about Officer Safety and putting up more numbers and being able to be more pro-active Officers as a 2 man unit. We want to have all the zones filled!!!!!!!!

"Do you have a first class ticket?"

Very well said.

[leomom]

This officer made it home alive, thank goodness. Lets just home TPD learned something from this terrible incident. Like 2 officer per car, the best vests available and maybe vcr cameras in the cars as well. Well time will tell. Best of luck to Wilkinson....