Suspect injured in deputy-involved shooting

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Ala. (WALA) - The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday, February 16, a deputy involved shooting occurred.

Officials said while on patrol, a deputy attempted to make a vehicle stop and the suspect refused to stop. They said then the deputy gave chase. Investigators said the suspect vehicle lost control on Highway 41 and Tippens Eddy Road.

Many law enforcement officers said they hate the word “routine," because it's a job in which nothing is guaranteed, and one that can change in the blink of an eye. 

“It’s traumatic," said Mike Lambert, ECSO's chief deputy.  "It’s traumatic on the other deputies and all the employees here.”

Yellow tape and orange markings still set the scene where a suspect’s speeding vehicle wound up following the chase early Saturday morning.

Lambert said it came after an attempted traffic stop which led to a brief high-speed chase down Highway 41.

The suspect tried to flee the scene, but deputies said two things slowed him down. They said it was dark outside so he couldn’t really see where he was going. They also said the thickness of this brush allowed the deputy to catch up to the suspect and grab him.

Officaisl, however, said the suspect wouldn’t go quietly.

“The struggle ensued while the officer had his gun drawn," Lambert said.  "And they were fighting over the gun, basically.”

Lambert said the deputy fired a round into the suspect’s leg.

As this is all under investigation by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, we weren’t given his name, but we know this isn’t his first run-in with the law.

The deputy is a three year veteran of the force.

“[He is] doing well," Lambert said.  "Obviously, he’s emotionally shaken, but glad everything turned out the way it did, and he seems to be okay.”

FOX10 News asked for dash-cam video of the incident, but we were told it had not been installed on the vehicle.

“Dash cam video is really expensive," Lambert said.  "We’re talking $5,000 to $6,000 per vehicle.  Actually, we just ordered some from the last sheriff’s conference that we came into to start putting them in the vehicles in a little more cost effective way.  But I was sitting there thinking the same thing: it sure would have been nice to have those in.”

Lambert expects those additions to come in this week.

As for the investigation, Lambert said we’ll have more information from ABI in the next day or two.

The suspect remains hospitalized in guarded condition.