Motorists in Louisiana are being hailed as heroes after they witnessed a sick scene unfolding on the side of the road on Sunday and immediately stepped in to help.
The incident unfolded in Calcasieu Parish, when Trooper Steven Vincent responded to a call of a motorist driving erratically right around 2:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon, KPLC-TV reported. Vincent spotted a Dodge Ram in the ditch, and he pulled over to talk to the driver, which is when an utterly atrocious scene unfolded.
During a news conference, Col. Mike Edmonson described what happened after Vincent’s dash-cam captured the horrifying incident on video.
“I watched … saw the door come straight open and he pulled out a shotgun — a sawed-off shotgun. I watched that shotgun blast. I saw my trooper go backwards,” the agency’s top cop, Col. Michael Edmonson, said at a press conference late Sunday, according to the New York Daily News.
When Vincent, a married father of a 9-year-old, tried to coax 54-year-old Kevin Daigle out of the driver’s seat of his truck, Daigle opened the door and fired two shots at the officer’s head, severely wounding the 13-year law enforcement veteran. Daigle was then seen pacing around in the street, weapon in hand, asking if Vincent was still alive before bending over the critically injured officer and told him, “You’re lucky you’re going to die,” officials said.
At that point, two unlikely heroes spotted what was going on, and rather than keep going, they stopped to intervene. Edmonson said that two motorists pulled over and confronted Daigle, then after a brief struggle in the street, they wrestled the shotgun away from him and subdued him.
One of the men was able to get Vincent’s handcuffs from his belt, and they cuffed Daigle and held him down while using Vincent’s radio to call for backup. The men then rendered first aid to Vincent until help arrived, which likely ended up saving his life.
Please send prayers for a Louisiana State Trooper who was shot during a traffic stop today.
— Gov. Bobby Jindal (@BobbyJindal) August 23, 2015
“They stopped to help my trooper and I will never forget that,” Edmonson said. “I was pretty proud of them.”
Vincent, 43, had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition.
“The gunshot wound to his head messed up his neurological output. Simply as I can put it, his brain is not telling his body what to do,” Edmonson told reporters.
Daigle, who has a lengthy rap sheet that includes assaulting a police officer, was also hospitalized for minor injuries after the brief struggle with the motorists. He’s expected to be charged with attempted murder, which could easily be upgraded to first-degree murder if Vincent doesn’t make it.
More on Officer Vincent from KPLC-TV:
Edmonson described Vincent as a “good guy” who had run a marathon the night before. Steven Vincent received a meritorious service award for a 2012 traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of a Slidell bank robbery suspect.
After seeing Daigle’s arrest record, he shouldn’t have ever been out of prison to begin with. This guy has a history of violence and an obvious contempt for law enforcement, which ultimately culminated in the attempted murder of an officer, and we have catch and release policies to thank.
Regardless of whether or not he should have been out of jail, it just goes to show you that no matter how many laws are in place, if criminals want to get gun, they’re going to get guns, and this is what happens. It’s also hard not to wonder if Vincent was apprehensive of drawing his weapon to approach the vehicle due to the current climate in our country in which the careers of police are destroyed if they have to defend themselves from violent thugs like Daigle.
UPDATE 11:05 a.m., August 24:
It has just been announced that Trooper Vincent died from the injuries he sustained after being shot in the head with a sawed off shotgun, then taunted by the suspect as he lay dying in the street. Col. Mike Edmonson released a statement following Vincent’s death, USAToday reported.
“I am very saddened to report that Senior Trooper Steven Vincent has passed away this morning from the gunshot wounds he suffered yesterday in conjunction with a traffic investigation,” Edmonton said in a statement issued Monday. “As an organization, we are heartbroken over this senseless and tragic death. Our thoughts and prayers are with his surviving wife Katherine and his son Ethan as well as his entire extended family.”
We send our deepest condolences to Trooper Vincent’s friends and family, and pray that they’re able to find even a little bit of peace after the tragic loss of their beloved friend and father. May his poor soul rest in peace with our Father after being taken too soon from this Earth.