A suburban St. Louis police officer was in critical condition late
Friday after he was shot in the neck in what investigators described as
an “ambush” following a traffic stop.
Ballwin Police Chief Kevin Scott said the
unidentified officer was walking to his car after the initial
conversation with the motorist he stopped for speeding Friday morning
when that driver “advanced quickly” on him from behind, firing at least
three shots.
The officer “had no chance at all” to pull his
handgun and “was completely helpless,” Scott said, noting the encounter
was recorded by the police car’s dashcam.
“Make no mistake: We believe during this
investigation that Ballwin officer was ambushed, period,” St. Louis
County Police Chief Jon Belmar said.
Scott said the officer was in critical but stable
condition, and “fightning for his life” at a hospital in Creve Coeur,
west of St. Louis.
After the shooting, Belmar said, the suspect sped
away before an officer from another police department spotted the car
about 4 miles away. The suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot
before being arrested about five minutes later, Belmar said.
Antonio Taylor, a 31-year-old black man who was
paroled in 2015 after serving time on a federal weapons charge, was
charged with assault of a police officer, armed criminal action and a
felon in possession of a firearm, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob
McCulloch said Friday.
McCulloch said there’s no evidence of any dispute
between Taylor and the white officer, a nine-year veteran before the
gunfire. Scott said he “can’t even begin to speculate” about a motive,
including whether the shooting had racial overtones.
The shooting followed the previous night’s attack in
Dallas that killed five officers and wounded seven during a protest over
the deaths of black men killed by police this week in Louisiana and
Minnesota.
Citing his concern about the shooting and the Dallas
tragedy, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon opted against leaving Friday for an
eight-day overseas trade mission as planned and instead would return to
Missouri from a Philadelphia event, spokeswoman Channing Grate said.
The shootings of officers in Ballwin, Dallas,
Tennessee and Georgia in a 24-hour period prompted police agencies
regionally and elsewhere in the U.S. to take precautionary safety
measures. Earlier Friday, St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said his
city’s law officers will work in pairs until further notice because of
the Dallas killings, and that all officers must wear bullet-resistant
vests when on duty outside of police stations.
Belmar said his department has gone to 12-hour days
now through the weekend, given the national debate about policing and
minorities.
“It’s an unfortunate state of events we’re dealing
with right now,” he said. “I do understand the silent majority out there
supports us.”
Taylor is being held on $500,000 cash bond and is expected to be arraigned on the felony charges Monday morning.
