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Police officer’s gun and body armor stolen from his car

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2023

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis County police officer may have been targeted when he was attending an Easter Sunday service at a south St. Louis County church.

An incident report said it was only the officer’s car that was broken into in the church parking lot. It was the officer’s personal car. A rear window was smashed between 10:40 a.m. and 12:21 p.m., and the officer’s service belt, which contained his gun and taser, was stolen. His body armor and uniform pants were also reported stolen.

“It is frustrating,” said Sgt. Tracy Panus with the St. Louis County Police Department. “We’re human, and we do people things, and unfortunately, this is the kind of stuff that can happen if we leave our guns or any of our police equipment in our vehicles.”

Top story: Police officer’s gun and body armor stolen from his car

Panus addressed head-on the fact that police have been warning the public about criminals who often break into cars looking for one thing.

“They are looking for firearms,” she said. “That they can use to commit another crime. So that’s why we’ve really been hammering this down for the last year or two since it’s become a bigger issue in this area.”

Last year, over 1200 guns were stolen from cars in the area. St. Louis County police reported 315 stolen firearms from vehicles in 2022. St. Louis City police reported 922 incidents matching the criteria for firearm theft from a car.

The medical community weighed in on the issue Monday, regarding the dramatic increase in child shooting injuries and deaths.

“This is predictable. This is preventable,” said Dr. Lindsay Cluckies, a pediatric emergency physician at Washington University. “These are injuries we can prevent, and one way to do that is with safe storage of firearms using gun locks.”

Cluckies said it was good news that hospital research discovered their donated gun locks were being used.

“We found that 2/3 of our families were using the locks that we provided to them,” she said. “So, we felt that was a huge success, and that prompted us to expand our efforts.”

St. Louis County police are now reminding their staff that the officer in question is under an internal affairs investigation.

“It’s a lesson to all of us. I live in a rural area. I don’t even have neighbors,” Panus said. “I never leave my gun locked in my car. It’s just not safe.”

A spokesperson for Concord Church, where the officer’s gun was stolen, said it has a “well-organized safety team, including people monitoring the parking lot during services.”

Yet one quick strike in a parking lot that was full on Easter Sunday is potentially life-changing.

“Hopefully, we find this guy and get this stuff off the street before it is used to harm someone else,” Panus said.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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