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tv   Caught on Camera  MSNBC  May 20, 2012 4:00pm-5:00pm PDT

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explosions and big booms. i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." i'm milissa rehberger following breaking news out of chicago. protests at the nato summit have turned violent. police battling with demonstrators who have been trying to get closer to the site where president obama is meeting with world leaders. the protesters are a collection of different kinds of groups. some are opposed to the war in afghanistan. others are upset about climate change. others are calling for the complete disallusion of nato. police in riot gear have been trying to push them back. nbc's john yang is in chicago.
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you are very close by to this. tell us what you are seeing. >> we're about a block away from sort of the heart of this confrontation. it really is more of a standoff right now than a confrontation. the police have stopped pushing the protesters forward or back from the mccormack place. we can see actually a new, fresh unit of chicago police arriving. they do have helmets on. their shields are up for the most part. they are wearing flak jackets. there is also a large number of illinois state police in riot gear. they have ear protection on. there's sort of an acoustic device that police use to blast noise at protesters to try to clear them away. what the police are trying to do is clear this area.
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the main protest rally ended maybe about an hour ago. there were about 2,000 to 3,000 people involved in that. most of them have left peacefully. however, this hard-core group of a couple hundred are refusing to leave. some sitting down in the streets. some actually started at one point pushing toward mccormick place, provoking a confrontation with police. there was a lot of pushing and shoving. some baton swings, stick swinging on the part of protesters. and right now there appears to be something of a standoff. the police commissioner is in the middle of it. he has been urging his officers to stay calm so we're now just sort of waiting and watching and seeing what happens next. >> john yang in chicago for us. thank you very much. what we're watching here, we've seen protesters videotaping
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police officers with their cell pho phones. obviously, that will probably wind up on the internet for all of us to see. those are the images we're getting from chicago. we will continue to follow that situation there. we also have other breaking news that we are following and that would be the death of robin gibb. gibb who with his brothers barry and maurice formed the disco-era hit machine the bee gees has died at 62. he had been suffering from colon and liver cancer and later contracted pneumonia. we'll continue to follow these breaking news stories. now back to "caught on camera." in law enforcement, only one thing is certain. >> he's shooting at the deputy. >> you never know what can happen. >> get on the ground! get on the ground! >> on any given day, at any given moment, chaos is just around the corner. life and death, separated by fractions of a second.
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or a split second decision. and sometimes, there's only one chance to get it right. the dashboard camera is our witness. >> i'm talking to the driver. "caught on camera: dash cam diaries." hello. i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." police dashboard cameras capture the ultimate reality show, vivid stories of life and death, pursuit and rescue. the dash cam dramas in this hour feature a fleeing killer, a suicidal mom, an out-of-control semi, and a host of officers willing to risk everything to keep citizens safe. a six-hour manhunt for a killer on the run comes to a dramatic
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end at the montana/idaho border. it's the morning of june 14th, 2003. earlier, over the radio, deputy sheriff david conway gets word that an officer has been shot. >> officer is down. >> conway races toward the scene when suddenly a gold ford taurus crosses three lanes of traffic, nearly running him off the road. >> he tried to ram me. somebody gets a chance, take him out. >> inside the ford taurus is george davis. he's not only shot an officer, he killed a man and left six others wounded the night before in a bar in ennis, montana. michael carroll was there. >> he had ran up a tab of 12 or 14 drinks, didn't have the funds to pay for it. it seemed like he was getting very, not just upset, but like distraught about the whole issue of it.
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>> carroll says he paid davis' bar tab hoping he would leave. davis does leave the bar, but he shows up outside moments later and suddenly opens fire. one of carroll's friends is shot and killed crossing the street. george davis then turns his gun on michael carroll. >> george davis was in front of me. he raised the gun up and looked at me with almost like black, piercing eyes, seemed to look right through me. i started to turn around and was kind of hunched over and he shot me. the bullet had gone into right above my belly button. >> luckily, somebody pulls carroll back inside the bar before davis can shoot him again. but carroll's girlfriend at the time is still outside, and davis shoots her in the hip. soon after, he goes back to his car and drives off. davis drives through the montana night.
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the next morning, deputy bernie alstad pulls him over for speeding, but before the deputy can get out of the car, davis attacks, shooting up his vehicle. alstad is wounded and davis is also hit, but he gets away. that's when deputy conway gets the call that an officer is down, and he's nearly run off the road. montana trooper jason hildenstab joins conway in the chase. he's working an extra shift and just clocked in, so he's low on gas. >> that was going to be my first order of business, to go get my car filled up, unknowing that i was going to be in a long high-speed pursuit in a matter of minutes. >> but there's no time to lose, and before he knows it, hildenstab is chasing george davis at speeds reaching 120 miles per hour. >> be advised, my low fuel light has come on. i am going to run out pretty soon. >> hildenstab is running on empty and can't keep up with davis.
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>> are you intentionally this far back or you don't have the power? >> i'm just not having the power. >> hildenstab takes the lead in the pursuit and edges closer to davis, getting a better look at the suspect. >> he was looking up in his rearview mirror at me. i could see him doing that. he was kind of giving me the eyeball. at one point he was combing his hair during the pursuit. i was pretty stunned that he was that focused and that relaxed. he had just been in a gun fight. >> suddenly, driving more than 100 miles an hour, davis slams on his brakes, then maneuvers to face officer hildenstab. >> get out of the car! get out of the car! >> davis takes cover and then steadily aims his .45 automatic at hildenstab. >> when someone's shooting at you that close, the muzzle looks like it's pointed right at your head, and it was surprising after each round he fired, i felt i'd be hit.
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>> hildenstab takes cover behind his vehicle and avoids davis' fire. deputy conway arrives on the scene, but just as the two officers engage davis, he jumps back in his car and speeds away. hildenstab's car is riddled with bullets and inoperable so he jumps in conway's car to continue the pursuit. >> multiple shots fired. suspect is moving again westbound. highway 12. >> davis drives completely out of sight. but there's a backup plan in motion. >> going to set up spikes at 113. 113. >> conway wants spikes to be set up down the road to deflate davis' tires. by this point, the chase has almost reached the state line. >> does idaho have anyone in the area? >> up ahead, an idaho state policeman lays down the spikes with seconds to spare. >> they're coming. watch out!
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>> davis runs over the spikes. air escapes rapidly from his tires and he's slowing down. but george davis is not about to give up. somehow, he maneuvers his disabled vehicle to face his pursuers. >> i heard our engine rev up and i knew what deputy conway was going to do. he didn't announce it to me, but i could tell he was going to ram him. >> conway rams the ford taurus at close to 60 miles an hour with the officers speeding toward him, davis actually opens his door so he can get a clearer shot, but he misses. as the smoke clears, deputy conway's okay, but hildenstab, whose seat belt is broken, is thrown into the windshield. >> it had blinded me. when i tried to open my eyes, i had all kinds of glass shards and stuff in my eyes. >> stay down! stay down! >> hildenstab's leg is broken and he's writhing in pain on the ground. the idaho policeman drags him behind conway's car to take
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cover. >> stay down. stay down right here. right here. stay down. put your hands outside the door. right now! put that left hand outside the door! >> amazingly, davis' gun which was thrown upwards from the impact of the collision has landed back in his car. >> you could see later in looking at the videotapes that he was trying to retrieve the gun again. he hadn't given up the fight yet. >> but davis has run out of luck. he has gunshot wounds and an injured back and he's going nowhere. >> keep your hands up! >> the idaho policeman handcuffs davis and pulls him out of the vehicle. still conscious, davis strikes up a conversation. >> i don't know, was it fun to you? >> it was a rush. >> what a rush, huh? >> wish we would have killed you? >> wish we would have killed
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you, huh? >> hildenstab is still nursing his broken leg but he says his pain is overtaken by the intense emotion of knowing he's helped capture george davis. >> i was just so probably in exhilaration i'll never feel in my life again. i was happy. it was just a great feeling. it seemed like at the time one of the happiest moments in my life. i had got this guy stopped. and i survived it. >> as davis' shooting spree comes to an end, one of his victims, michael carroll, is struggling to survive. >> my son had just turned 5 two days ago. like he could not have a dad all of a sudden. like that was a really powerful thing for me. >> to everyone's surprise, carroll pulls through, as do the five others who survived the shooting in ennis, but there's a long road to recovery for carroll. >> getting shot was easy. the really hard part was recovery. >> before the shooting, carroll weighs 165 pounds. after his recovery, he's down to
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112 and his rage is overwhelming. >> the more i sat there and hated him, even though he was in a small jail cell and i was out in the open, it was still giving him the power over me. >> on the day the 46-year-old davis is sentenced to life in prison without parole, carroll confronts him in the courtroom. >> i made sure to tell him that if he had all thought like he had done anything to hurt the people in this town, like it had the opposite effect. it was amazing how much it brought this town together, united people. >> the people of ennis, montana, rally around carroll with boundless support. even offering him free medical care. carroll and his son are closer than ever and they don't have to worry about george davis. >> it would be a much different feeling knowing that he was out and not caught.
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so i'm very thankful for that. the jobs that a cop has to do every day, it's amazing. i have a lot of respect for what they do. coming up -- an epic collision. an ambulance pulled over. >> you better get back in that ambulance. i'm talking to the driver. >> and a miracle on a bridge. when "caught on camera: dash cam diaries" continues. at aviva, we do things differently. we're bringing humanity back to life insurance. that's why only aviva rewards you with savings for getting a check-up. it's our wellness for life program, with online access to mayo clinic. see the difference at avivausa.com.
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a state trooper lunges after a suicidal bridge jumper, saving the mother of two in the nick of time. the clear, sunny morning could easily have been her last. >> it was just hold on to that arm. don't let it go. >> july 19th, 2004. green bay, wisconsin. trooper les bolt hears about a
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frantic husband calling 911. the man is following his wife, who he thinks is suicidal. >> there's a suicidal female subject. husband is on the line with us. >> the call for help won't be easy to answer. before law enforcement can do anything to help her, they will have to catch up to her. she's traveling in excess of 90 miles an hour. >> there's always a little bit of delay from the time that the dispatcher gets the call and then they can relay it out to the cars on the road. >> also on the lookout for the suicidal driver is sergeant bill morgan of the brown county sheriff's department. >> we were looking for a white oldsmobile, and the husband was following in a dodge durango so i set up cars on highway 29 hoping we could intercept her. >> even with multiple officers on the road, bolt believes the chances of catching up with the desperate woman are slim. but luck is on his side. after just a few minutes, bolt thinks he spots the white
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oldsmobile. >> i was kind of actually surprised that there's a vehicle in front of me. i didn't know for sure if it was her, but the car was moving at a high rate of speed passing other traffic. >> this has got to be the one. she's on i-43, passing cars on the shoulder. >> trooper bolt flicks on his lights and chases after the driver whose speed reaches 120 miles per hour. other drivers move out of the way of those two speeding cars. >> passed a couple vehicles on the ramp, and then i was finally able to catch up to it on i-43 where it proceeded to go at high speeds up on to the top of the bridge. >> the driver heads onto tower drive bridge, rising 130 feet above the fox river. in the middle of the bridge, she pulls over. bolt has an uneasy feeling. >> i didn't know what her thoughts were, being possible suicidal subject, i didn't know what she might have in her hands or what she would be doing. >> the driver immediately exits the car. >> she turned away from me like
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i wasn't even there and headed towards the side of the bridge. i was already out of my vehicle so i made the decision to try and cut her off before she got to the edge. >> but before bolt can reach the woman, she jumps. >> i couldn't see either of them, and i looked over and i saw les was looking over the side of the bridge, i thought. i radioed our dispatch center and said i think she jumped. >> she jumped. >> but then a miracle unfolds. >> hold on. they're pulling up. >> next thing i look over and i see les pulling an arm up. i could see he had ahold of her hand so i yelled into the mike, he's got a hand. >> the woman's fall is broken by a beam that runs along the outer edge of the bridge. it gives trooper bolt one last chance to grab on to her and save her life. >> i was able to get ahold of her arm, keep her there, and then just wait. there was no way i was getting her over the wall by myself. i wasn't going to try and re-adjust the grip. >> together with a third
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officer, deputy kevin kennard, les bolt and sergeant bill morgan are able to pull the woman to safety. >> he's pulling her back up. >> she was what i have always called giving us the thousand yard stare. to me, that's where someone doesn't see anything going on around them. they're just looking a thousand yards away. >> the suicidal woman is tina zahn, who is experiencing post-partum depression after the birth of her second child. >> i remember just being in the house and just feeling numb. just numb. the statistics show that postpartum depression reaches its height 90 days after the birth of a baby, and we almost hit it to the day. we were like three days off. >> tina's depression is so deep, her husband had asked tina's mother to help look after her. >> apparently i was talking about jumping. i don't remember talking about jumping. apparently they were trying to
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keep the car keys away from me. >> according to tina, on that july morning, her mother lost patience with her for not being able to get over her depression. it was too much for tina to handle. >> i snapped, and i lost all hope and i saw the car keys laying over by the refrigerator on the counter. i grabbed them. i ran out the door. >> but before tina drives away, her 6-year-old daughter pleads with her. >> she came out of the house and she saw me in the car and she's banging on my window, and she's banging on there saying, mommy, mommy, take me with you, take me with you. and i backed out. i just took the car and i just went as fast as i could. >> her mother alerts tina's husband his distraught wife has taken off in the car. tina's determined to drive to the bridge, get out and jump. she says she can't recall much of that harrowing journey. >> the next memory i have is
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being on highway 29, coming into green bay, and i see my husband. and he's coming at me, and i do see him go through the grass median. >> tina is so filled with despair, she keeps driving despite the lights and sirens, completely focused on getting on the bridge. >> i remember pulling up and pulling over to the side of the bridge, and that's it. >> the efforts of green bay law enforcement stop tina from taking her own life. >> god reached out of the heavens and kind of said, it's not your time yet. sorry. >> if trooper bolt had been one step slower, tina says her life would have been over. >> his whole body is over, and he's hanging on with one leg by the barrier and the other leg goes up in the air.
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so, you know, microseconds. >> the call was very, very close. i mean, split second anywhere and she would have, you know, succeeded in what she was trying to do. >> tina has written a book called "why i jumped" to help others struggling with depression, and she speaks publicly about her ordeal. >> i wasn't even thinking of my children. i just was thinking there's no hope. >> what began on a desperate morning has grown into a supportive friendship for tina and the officers at the bridge. >> i've got to meet her children, her husband, and this was probably one of the most positive days in my whole career. coming up -- a terrible accident. and a shootout in texas. >> he's shooting at the deputy. >> when "caught on camera: dash
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[ male announcer ] dow solutions use vibration reduction technology to help reduce track noise so trains move quieter through urban areas all over the world. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. [ all ] shh! [ male announcer ] solutionism. the new optimism. a gunman on the run leads a fleet of squad cars on a chase in tyler, texas. >> he's shooting at the deputy. >> that ends with one man dead.
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the drama begins in tyler's town square at the smith county courthouse where every day, passions run high. >> in a courthouse, whether it's new york city or tyler, texas, that courthouse is full of emotion. especially in the courts of divorce and child custody. >> that day, february 24th, 2005, 43-year-old david arroyo is waiting outside for his ex-wife to arrive for a child support hearing. >> he had somehow blamed all the problems in life on his wife and his son. >> armed with a powerful semiautomatic rifle, he opens fire. >> we have shots fired on the square. we have someone down. >> appears to be a hispanic male. looks like he's in front of the old levine store. >> the shooting is all caught on a courthouse surveillance camera. arroyo on the right guns down
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ex-wife marabelle estrada and one of their sons, 23-year-old david arroyo jr. a massive gun battle erupts between arroyo and officers at the courthouse entrance. >> we're getting shot at. >> we're on the way. we're trying to get the guy. >> our bailiff's been shot. >> deputy sherman dollison filling in as a bailiff moves outside to confront arroyo as he opens fire. >> when you watch the video, you see the officers are doing exactly what they're taught to do, and that's run into the gunfire to try to stop the perpetrator. >> where is he now? >> he's outside the back door. >> the bailiff is outside the back door? >> i think he went out. he's been shot. they're going to need an ambulance. >> dollison is shot multiple times and falls to the ground outside the courthouse, critically injured. other officers are shooting arroyo, but he's not going down. unknown to them at the time, he's wearing protective body armor. still, the officers keep coming. >> one was critically injured
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with numerous gunshots in front of the courthouse. he kept shooting. even when he was shot numerous times, he still rolls up and tries to shoot. >> inside the courthouse, arroyo's son is shot in both legs but still alive. as the bullets are flying, he begs his father for his life. >> i said before i die, we need to talk, and i was basically just trying to get him to stop, like hold up, but i didn't even know what i was going to say. he just looked at me, goes talk about what? >> on the street, local resident mark wilson, a licensed gun owner, fires at arroyo, but arroyo turns and shoots him dead. sheriff smith believes wilson may have prevented arroyo from killing his own son. >> i believe had it not been for mark wilson, and some others and the deputies shooting back at him, he would have killed his son. there's no doubt in my mind. >> but it's too late to save arroyo's ex-wife. she dies on the courthouse steps. >> the last thing she was saying was i can make her out like she was praying.
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i was trying to talk to her and she wasn't really responding. she was, i guess, praying in her mind and after that, she just went blank. >> caught on police dashboard camera, arroyo makes his getaway in his pickup truck. nearby, sergeant rusty jacks thinks arroyo may still be on foot, so he jumps on the hood of the squad car, hoping to catch him by surprise. >> we'll take any means of transportation. we still hunt them down from four-wheelers to horseback. it just depends what's available at the time. that's what jacks did. >> he's going to beckham, get in! >> go, go, go! >> a caravan of police officers joins the chase, including john smith, a deputy sheriff at the time. smith is surprised at how slowly arroyo is driving for a man on the run. >> it was low speed. seemed like to me he was taunting us, like he was wanting a fight. >> 405 northbound, beckham overpass. >> as arroyo heads north of town, he still has his weapon at
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the ready. >> we're still northbound, speeds 40. the barrel of the gun is still out the driver's window. >> wary of arroyo's rifle, the fleet of squad cars keep a safe distance. but deputy smith decides it's time to make a move. >> i felt i needed to engage him and put a stop to it. >> smith's car bolts past the others toward the red pickup truck. maneuvering close behind arroyo. >> all i could see was him, the shooter. i had like tunnel vision focused on him. >> arroyo picks up speed as smith approaches, then opens fire. >> he fired out the window. he tried to shoot the sheriff's deputy. >> under intense fire, smith decides to ram arroyo's vehicle from behind and try to throw him off. >> while i was shooting, i rammed his pickup truck. i figured he's got to drive so he would stop shooting. i think he shot me like five times. >> suddenly, arroyo stops his
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truck and gets out, aiming his rifle right at smith. >> he's shooting at the deputy. >> he gets out and i'm out of bullets, so i get out of the way. >> with no ammunition, smith is a sitting duck. but luckily, another squad car has pulled over to the right. it's sergeant rusty jacks. armed with a rifle he shoots arroyo from 60 feet away and kills him. >> suspect down. suspect down. >> in my rear view mirror i see him just drop. so i don't know what had happened. i didn't know if i had hit him and it was just a delayed response. i just didn't know. but his truck was still rolling so i just did a u-turn and put my bumper on his front bumper. to keep the truck from rolling. >> deputy sherman dollison, gravely injured at the courthouse, fights for his life in the days that follow. >> did not know if dollison was going to live or die. it was touch and go for many
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days afterwards. >> but dollison pulls through and the other officers escape with minor injuries. a few weeks later, a memorial is held to remember the victims and to honor the officers. >> it was a very solemn time here in this county. it lasted longer than a lot of the tragedies that i've seen happen. there is still a solemn attitude around the courthouse. >> the courthouse still shows its scars from that day in 2005. there are bullet holes in its walls today. david arroyo jr. is haunted by the death of his mother. >> i wish i could have done more. i hope she made it to heaven because that's where she should be. i'm pretty sure my dad's in hell so he ain't going to bother her no more. coming up -- danger on the side of the road. and a run-in with a semi. when "caught on camera: dash cam diaries" continues. [ male announcer ] this is lois.
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i'm milissa rehberger following some breaking news in chicago. clashes between police and protesters at the nato sum pipt the demonstrators have been trying to get to the site where president obama is meet with world leaders where officers in riot gear have been trying to disperse them. robin gibb has died at the age of 62 after a long bout with colon and liver cancer. he and his brothers barry and
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maurice help define the disco raerks with their very unique sound. now back to "caught on camera." you may think criminals with deadly weapons are the greatest danger police officers face on the beat. but traffic incidents can be as dangerous, if not more so. in our next story, officers on highway patrol find themselves in harm's way. >> come on, hurry! hurry, hurry! come on, come on, let's go! >> on an icy interstate, a car is crushed between the police vehicle and a careening tractor trailer. >> i thought for sure the driver of that car would have been seriously injured, if not killed. >> february 13th, 2007, officers douglas eagler and bill allen report for duty at the erlanger, kentucky, police department. at 7:00 p.m., the night is already wet and icy. >> when we started our shift, we
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had to use our flashlights to knock the ice off our overhead light bar. so we knew we were in for probably a long night. >> bad weather for drivers means hard and dangerous work for policemen on patrol. as the officers head north up interstate 75, they're almost immediately dispatched to the scene of an accident. >> northbound 75 at the 184.4 mile marker for report of a collision with injuries. >> officer allen's dash cam is recording as they approach the accident site. >> there was one vehicle that had struck the wall on the left-hand side of the road. >> the officers pull over to check on the car and its occupants. they know they're in a risky position because of the slick roads. >> are you all right? are you all right? >> i don't know how i made it through all this. >> the vehicles were having a tough time maneuvering around on the interstate. >> but they're still taken by
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surprise at what happens next. >> my vehicle, our police cruiser, was struck by another vehicle. it spun around and was facing in the opposite direction. >> they've been rear-ended. the crash shakes the dash cam which briefly shuts off, but then restarts. >> our police car was facing oncoming traffic in the middle lane of the interstate. >> then the officers realize something much worse is on the way. >> here comes a semi! >> i saw an oncoming tractor-trailer coming directly towards the scene of the collision we were just involved in. >> as they stare horrified at the behemoth bearing down on the cruiser, another driver on his evening commute has pulled up behind the pile-up. >> i thought i saw two headlights spinning in front of me, two different cars, and as i got closer and closer, i realized that it was two cars spinning so i screeched on my brakes and came to a complete stop. >> ronald powell jr. has avoided an accident, but he's completely unaware of the approaching tractor-trailer.
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officer eagler sees that the woman who was just rear-ended his patrol car is right in the path of the truck. the woman is off camera. if the officer doesn't get her out of harm's way, he's certain she will die. >> i was yelling at her, come on, come on, come on, you need to get out of there. >> come, on, come on, come on! >> i pulled her car door open and grabbed ahold of her, looking over my shoulder at the tractor-trailer that was oncoming. all i really had time to do was push her towards the retaining wall. threw her down on the ground. >> it all happens in moments and powell, sitting in his car, becomes aware something is horribly wrong. >> why did they just jump out of the car like that? that's when i heard an air brake on the semi. it was like goo, goo, goo and that's when i felt the impact. i didn't see anything happen. i just felt it. i felt glass cutting my face. >> sheltered against the median wall, the officers are amazed to
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see the semi miraculously bounce safely past them. >> i never thought the wheel of a semi would look that big as it went past us. >> you see from the video that the tractor-trailer steers right, which causes the double tandem trailers to bounce off the wall and went right around us. had that wall not been there, they would have taken out everybody around. it was just luck. just luck. >> the tractor-trailer comes to a halt. in his crushed car, ron powell is stunned to find he's still alive. >> i was over on the shoulder facing the wrong way, facing the opposite way. my face is bleeding really heavy and i was just, uh, what just happened? >> the driver of the semi gets out of his truck and approaches ron. >> he was actually the first guy to my car. he was like, are you okay, man? i was like, yeah, i think so. he's like man, i'm glad you're alive.
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i was like, me, too. >> not until after the crash did the officers realize ron powell's car is there. it's completely mangled. >> everybody's running up to me with flashlights and they were talking about potentially fatal, potentially fatal on the intercoms. i know what that means. i thought something was going -- i had to start touching myself like, okay, i can wiggle my toes, wiggle my fingers, i think i'm okay. >> emergency responders take one look at ron's bloody face and assume the worst. >> we'll get these guys to help you get out. >> but they're in for a surprise. >> a firefighter guy had told me it's going to take 10, 15 minutes to cut me out the car, and i asked him, can i climb out the window? and he let me climb out the window. then i turned around and looked at the car. it's like a giant just took it and squashed it frontwards and backwards. >> despite the violence of the crash, everyone's injuries are slight. even ron powell's. >> after they wiped all the blood away it was just superficial scratches. i'm pretty blessed and lucky to be able to walk away from something like that.
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>> at the station afterwards, the woman who officer eagler saved gets her chance to thank him. >> she just gave me a hug. that was a very neat moment. >> as brief as it was, their miraculous escape from the violent crash made a lasting impression on everyone involved. >> when i saw the videotape, wow, how lucky am i? >> i did break down finally and start crying and realizing that i could have been killed very easily. but you know, god still wanted me here for something. coming up -- another officer makes a dramatic save. and an ambulance pulled over on the way to the hospital. ♪ dave, i've downloaded a virus. yeah.
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at aviva, we do things differently. we're bringing humanity back to life insurance. that's why only aviva rewards you with savings for getting a check-up. it's our wellness for life program, with online access to mayo clinic. see the difference at avivausa.com. caught on camera, a heated argument between a state trooper and a paramedic on his way to the hospital with a patient. may 24th, 2009, dash cam video
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shows oklahoma trooper daniel martin trying to pass an ambulance that is slow to let him by. the trooper scolds the driver over his radio. >> you got to watch your rear view mirror. >> paramedic maurice white, caring for a patient in the ambulance, says his driver hasn't seen the trooper because he was driving in the ambulance's blind spot. a few minutes later, trooper martin pulls over the ambulance. what follows on the dashboard video is a bizarre encounter. >> here, now. >> what's wrong? what's going on? >> i'm talking to the driver. >> i'm talking to you. >> you better get back in that ambulance. i'm talking to the driver. >> i'm in charge of this unit, sir. >> okay. >> the trooper thinks that the ambulance driver, paul franks, gave him the finger earlier. >> you don't need to give me no hand gestures now. i ain't going to put up with that. you understand me? >> i know the character of paul franks. that's just something he wouldn't do. >> i won't put up with you talking to my driver like that. >> i ain't listening to you, buddy. you get back in that ambulance
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or i'll take you in. i'm talking to the driver. >> paramedic white says he wouldn't let the trooper talk to his driver because he believed his patient would suffer from any delay. he tells the trooper about the patient, but the trooper persistsght now. >> you want to go ahead and pull over to the side of the road when there's an emergency vehicle behind you? >> the logical thing to do would be to take it up at the hospital or take it up with us later. but he totally ignored my statement that we have a patient on board. >> you better get back in that ambulance before you get your butt to jail now. you understand me? >> after we take the patient to the hospital, you can take me to jail. we will discuss this, okay? >> paramedic white refuses to back down. his patient has fainted in her home and has a history of heart trouble. trooper martin tries to put the paramedic in handcuffs. >> hey, hey. >> on the dash cam video, the patient's family starts to gather.
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they have been following the ambulance to the hospital. the patient's husband reminds the trooper that his wife is waiting in the ambulance, but the argument continues. [ shouting ] >> you turn around now. patient's family starts to gather. they have been following the ambulance to the hospital. the patient's husband reminds the trooper that his wife is waiting in the ambulance, but the argument continues. >> you turn around now. >> the trooper releases the paramedic and the crowd breaks up. paramedic white returns to his ambulance, where his patient is extremely distraught. >> if you can imagine yourself, you're on a cot in an ambulance, you're basically helpless in that position, and you can hear your family members screaming. she was extremely upset. >> what's worse, the confrontation's not over yet. the patient's husband tries again to intervene. >> my wife needs to go to the
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hospital. i understand that. >> if he wouldn't have come out here you could have been on the way about five minutes ago, partner. now step back. >> the driver tries his best to defuse the tense situation. >> i'm sorry, i didn't see you coming. >> i was just trying to talk to you about it. i didn't need your manager or whoever it is in the back, paramedic, whoever happens to be in charge, to get out, okay? you understand? >> yes, sir, i do. >> trooper martin tells the driver that he plans to arrest the paramedic. >> he's going to jail. yes. you don't jump out and talk to a state trooper like that. you understand me? i don't care who you are. you're not running code. you're not running emergency, okay? all right? i didn't just get up behind you and turn on my red lights and siren. i've been going hot over here, you understand? >> yes, sir, i do. >> the video shows the ambulance wasn't running lights and sirens. white says that's because he
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didn't want to excite the patient. but now, that's a moot point. as a second officer arrives, the trooper goes to check on the patient. still having little idea about her condition. >> ma'am, we're going to get you on to the hospital here just directly, okay? you're going to jail, you understand me? you're under arrest. you are under arrest. >> once again, the situation gets heated. a family member's cell phone camera captured trooper martin attempting to restrain the paramedic. the paramedic shoves the trooper and the patient starts to scream. trooper martin then places paramedic white in a choke hold. a few moments later, the trooper backs off. >> i think maybe just having that second officer there helped bring martin under control a little bit, enough that he could just have that moment of clarity to realize what he was doing was not in his best interest, my best interest and most importantly, in the patient's best interest. >> the trooper allows the ambulance to leave and follows it to the hospital. when they arrive, paramedic white checks in his patient, who
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is released later that day. the paramedic then turns himself in. >> i went back outside to the second trooper on scene and i told him that at this point, you can arrest me, i released my patient care to the nurse. >> but after everything that happened, white is never arrested. trooper martin did not respond to interview requests through his lawyer, but in a press conference, his lawyer says paramedic white delayed the patient by not letting martin talk directly to driver paul franks. >> the trooper martin's belief was if i could sit down and talk to paul, that we could have ended this very quickly. mr. white is trying to control the scene. >> paramedic white says the incident was a fluid situation and in the heat of the moment, he did what he thought was right. >> i did not deem it in the best interest of the patient to permit him to handcuff and arrest me at that time. >> paramedic white is suing trooper martin for violating his
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civil rights. the patient is also suing the trooper and the oklahoma highway patrol for negligence. trooper martin and the highway patrol are contesting the claims. >> if we allow people to get out of vehicles and try to handle the traffic stop other than the driver, that's chaos. >> the state of oklahoma gives trooper martin a five-day suspension and an order to report for an anger assessment. paramedic white believes trooper martin may have offered an explanation for his behavior on the road that day. white refers to a conversation he says the two of them had outside the hospital after the incident. >> he made the statement that i don't know how we got to this point. we worked together before. and i simply said i don't know how we got here, either, and he said well, i just recently came back from iraq. >> trooper martin had served in iraq and returned just weeks before. whatever the reason for the strange encounter, both the trooper and the paramedic won't
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welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. even an ordinary day for police on patrol can turn into a life or death situation. with dash cams rolling, officers can relive their most frightening moments. on a stretch of road, a police officer saves a young man's life while putting his own in jeopardy. it's a cold day in february 2010. lieutenant john lambert responds to a call near cleveland, ohio,
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where a teenager's car has hit a barrier after he lost control in the snow. >> hello, there. >> lambert, a 22-year veteran of the force, is keeping a watchful eye for oncoming cars. while the teenager is getting his driver's license, lieutenant lambert appears to glance nervously down the road. a few seconds later, disaster strikes. an out-of-control vehicle crashes into lambert and the teen, all caught on the lieutenant's dashboard camera. unbelievably, lambert is able to push the teenager out of harm's way. >> i was positive i was dead. you see a car flying at you going 40 miles per hour, you think you're done. >> the teen walks away from the collision but lambert's thrown over the guardrail, seriously injured. the woman who hit him, 30-year-old katherine dagostino, calls 911. as other officers arrive on the

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