ESTERO, FLORIDA — A man passing by, who was armed with his concealed carry pistol, noticed trouble on the highway and immediately pulled over to help.
Deputy First Class Dean Bardes, who has been on the job for 12 years, was working a crash site when he found himself in a high-speed chase with a suspect. At some point, both stopped their vehicles and when Bardes approached the suspect, the two began to fight.
The suspect was armed with a gun, according to police.
The man who was passing by saw the fight and got out of his car and approached the two men and demanded that the suspect stop the assault. He told the suspect that he would shoot if he did not stop his brutal assault on the officer.
After not complying, the man fired several rounds at the suspect. He later died from his injuries.
The officer was not shot, but did require medical attention at the hospital and was released shortly after.
In a moment such as this, the armed citizen had to make a split-second decision to stop the assault from continuing. We imagine that when the shots were fired, the suspect was in very close proximity to the officer. The armed citizen, however, deemed it necessary at the time to fire on the suspect.
The incident is, of course, under investigation to see if the force was necessary. In the meantime, many are calling this armed bystander a hero for saving the Officer’s life. And we agree.
