[VIDEO] Handcuffed Man In Police Car Shoots Officer With Hidden Gun After Being Searched And Transported

MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA – A man managed to conceal a gun from police during a search and later shot an officer.  The incident occurred outside of the McKeesport police station Sunday afternoon.

Koby Lee Francis, 22 of McKeesport was served with a protection from abuse order earlier in the day and wasted no time in violating it…twice.  Police stated that Francis was very combative when he was arrested for the violations, and a pistol was found during a search of his vehicle.

He was handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle for the ride to the police station. Upon arrival, Officer Gerasimos Athans, 32, exited the driver’s door and walked around to the right rear passenger door. As he opened it, he was hit with three rounds that Francis fired from a gun that he had managed to keep hidden during his arrest. He got out of the vehicle, firing more rounds at the officer, who managed to return fire as Francis fled the scene on foot, still handcuffed. The incident was caught on camera.

Earlier video confirmed that he was originally handcuffed behind the back, but somehow managed to get his hands in front of him during the ride to the station.

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said that Athans’ wounds were not life-threatening and that he should be released from the hospital in a few days. Francis was still at large and considered armed and dangerous. When apprehended, he will be charged with attempted homicide, escape, flight to avoid apprehension, aggravated assault, and firearms charges.

McDonough commented that Francis “was searched, obviously” at the time of the arrest but “was able to secret a weapon and that was the weapon he used…to shoot.” He added that the officer ‘emptied his weapon” in the direction of the suspect after being shot, but there was no evidence that Francis was hit by any of the bullets.

This unfortunate incident shows that anything can happen, even when the suspect appears to be in a controlled situation. Perhaps the resistance during arrest was designed to keep officers from conducting a thorough search of his person. Fortunately for the officer, he wasn’t shot from behind during the transport nor was he incapacitated from the close-range hits that he took while standing in the open doorway. It also shows that 10 or more rounds fired under duress at a running suspect may all miss the mark.

The main take-away is to be prepared for any thing at any time.  Never assume that a searched person is unarmed and never assume that a restrained person is incapable of assault and escape. Even the smallest of handguns that can be easily concealed can be deadly in the hands of a handcuffed suspect.

On August 6, 1990, Charlotte Police Officer Terry Lyles, 32, a 2 ½ year veteran of CPD, was transporting a searched and handcuffed suspect to headquarters. Using a .22 caliber handgun that he had concealed in his underwear during the search, the suspect shot Officer Lyles twice in the back of his bulletproof vest. After losing control of the vehicle and striking an embankment, Lyles was fatally shot in the head by the suspect as he fled the scene.