Monday, February 6, 2017

// Texas Police Officer Hit by Fleeing Driver Released from Hospital // After being Run Over Twice // Cpl. Elise Bowden didn’t believe she was going to survive //

Texas officer hit by fleeing driver released from hospital

After being run over twice, Cpl. Elise Bowden didn’t believe she was going to survive

Today at 5:00 AM

By Domingo Ramirez Jr.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

ARLINGTON, Texas — After being run over twice Wednesday night, Arlington police Cpl. Elise Bowden didn’t believe she was going to survive.

But the mother of eight made it, and on Sunday, Bowden got to go home from the hospital.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” an emotional Bowden said just outside John Peter Smith Hospital as she sat in a wheelchair.

Dozens of co-workers, police, friends, relatives and hospital staffers lined up and cheered as she was led outside, accompanied by her husband, Arlington police Sgt. Brad Norman, and Police Chief Will Johnson.

“Another detective from Dallas who got run over himself came to tell me, ‘You’ll survive this,’ ” Bowden said. “I know I will. I already did. Everything I have is mendable.”

Lt. Christopher Cook, police spokesman, said Sunday that two dashcam videos from patrol cars captured the incident.

“It’s a very difficult and hard video to watch,” Cook said. “It shows how close to death she was.”

Cook said that the department would work with the Tarrant County district attorney’s office on a possible release of the videos.

Bowden was conducting a traffic stop at 11:38 p.m. Wednesday in the 1700 block of Spring Lake Drive when she noticed that the driver, Tavis Crane, had warrants for his arrest. Four people were in the car, including a 2-year-old.

Crane had a felony warrant from Dallas County for a probation violation and multiple misdemeanor warrants out of Grand Prairie, police said.

Bowden called for backup, and two units responded.

“She was very polite. The suspect was given so many chances to get out of the vehicle that I’d say she was begging him to get out,” Cook said Sunday.

Crane refused to comply as Bowden walked to the back of the car and officer Craig Roper entered the suspect’s car through a passenger door. Crane put the car in reverse, hitting Bowden and slamming into her patrol car, police said.

“The impact knocked the police car out of position,” Cook said.

Crane pulled forward, again running over Bowden as Crane tried to flee, police said.

Roper, who by then was in a rear passenger seat, shot at Crane.

Crane’s car came to a stop at the end of the road, police said. Nobody else was injured.

Crane was taken to Arlington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:31 a.m. Thursday.

Bowden has been with the Arlington Police Department since May 20, 2002.

Roper, who has been on the force since January 2015, remains on administrative leave.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

// Ga. Police Officer Dies after Inhaling Liquid Nitrogen during Rescue Attempt // Officer was a Hero // Amen for Police Officers Everywhere //

Sgt. Greg Meagher died after inhaling liquid nitrogen while trying to save a worker

Duty Death: Greg Meagher - [Richmond County, Georgia]

End of Service: 02/05/2017

Yesterday at 11:54 PM

By James Folker
The Augusta Chronicle

RICHMOND COUNTY, Ga. — A Richmond County sheriff’s deputy died Sunday after inhaling liquid nitrogen while trying to save a worker inside a sperm bank.

Three other deputies were injured but “are going to be OK,” Lt. Allan Rollins said late Sunday.

Sgt. Greg Meagher, left, receiving recognition for 30 years of distinguished service. (Photo/Richmond County Sheriff)

Sgt. Greg Meagher, 57, went to Xytex at 1100 Emmett St. about 3:30 p.m., according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

“Upon arrival, Sgt. Meagher succumbed to injuries sustained after inhaling an unknown chemical substance,” the release said.

The chemical was liquid nitrogen, according to Dee Griffin, the spokeswoman for the Augusta Fire Department and Augusta’s Emergency Management Agency. The chemical is used to freeze sperm donations.

Three other deputies who had responded to the call already had been taken to a hospital after complaining of shortness of breath when firefighters arrived just before 4 p.m.

The firefighters found the unresponsive deputy and a female Xytex employee inside the building. Meagher had gone into the building to try to rescue the woman, according to Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen.

Both were taken to AU Medical Center, where Meagher was pronounced dead about 4:30 p.m., according to Bowen. Meagher’s body was sent to Atlanta for an autopsy.

Two fire department hazardous materials teams were called out and shut off liquid nitrogen tanks, according to a news release from Griffin. No firefighters were injured.

There was no information on the condition of the Xytex employee.

Meagher was a 33-year veteran with the sheriff’s office and a former drug investigator. He was shot in the face in 2004 when he was assisting federal agents in a drug sting in Burke County. The bullet entered his jaw and exited the back of his neck. He was airlifted to the then-Medical College of Georgia Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Meagher helped a colleague chase down motor vehicle thieves in 1985 and helped rush a pregnant woman from a south Augusta restaurant to University Hospital as she went into labor, according to records from Meagher’s personnel file, obtained by The Augusta Chronicle after his 2004 shooting.

Meagher also was commended for assisting the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice during a 1996 undercover drug investigation of a deputy U.S. marshal, a letter states.

In 2000, officials at the Savannah River Technology Center commended Meagher and other colleagues for helping a Justice Department employee observe the use of a surveillance camera to make arrests in a drug trafficking area.

Records show Meagher went to the Criminal Investigation Division in 1989. He started with the sheriff’s office in 1984.

True Crimes

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