Stunning video from a lethal shootout in Texas captured the moment an ex-con jumped in to help drag a wounded officer out of the line of fire.
Houston Police Dept. Chief Troy Finner praised 40-year-old John Phillip Lally for his actions on Saturday at about 10 a.m.
Lally was driving to work when he says he encountered what seemed to be a car accident and jumped out of his truck to help anyone who might be injured. Instead, he landed in the middle of a gun battle.
“As soon as I jump out of the car there’s gunshots going off,” Lally told KRIV-TV. “Then I looked to my left and saw that cop get shot.”
Police said earlier that day, Officer J. Gibson had tried to pull over a suspect in a stolen vehicle, but the suspect drove off with Gibson in chase. The suspect crashed into several cars on Highway 59 before Gibson approached the suspect’s vehicle on foot, giving him commands. The suspect instead fired at Gibson and shot him in the leg.
“That’s when I grabbed that cop by his vest and dragged him all the way back to my work truck,” Lally said.
Lally stayed with Gibson while other officers applied a tourniquet to his leg.
“I’ve been to jail a million times, bro,” said Lally to Gibson in the video, “and I love cops dearly, bro. You’re gonna be all right.”
Police said the suspect got into another car and tried to get away, but police shot him numerous times, and he died later at a hospital. Investigators said the suspect was involved in a carjacking incident.
“A truly reformed individual is a person that we can use. He stepped up,” Finner said of Lally.
In an interview with Inside Edition, the man admitted to having numerous run-ins with law enforcement but said he had turned his life around.
“It sucks that people got injured and even the man who caused the whole thing lost his life, but I think a higher power knows what they’re doing,” said Lally.
“If y’all see somebody that you can help, help them. That’s the main moral of the story,” he added.
Here’s the stunning video:
Hero Driver Drags Injured Police Officer to Safetywww.youtube.com
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