LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A good Samaritan came to the aid of a Nye County deputy in need in Pahrump this morning. He jumped in during a struggle to take a suspect into custody.
A good Samaritan came to the aid of a Nye County deputy in need. Monday morning in Pahrump, he jumped in during a struggle to take a suspect into custody.
Only on FOX5, Kim Passoth has the dash cam video showing how it all played out and a message from the Nye County Sheriff for that unidentified stranger.
The sheriff says being a deputy in Nye County is no easy task. It is the largest county in the state and the third largest in the contiguous US: more than 18,000 square miles. Sometimes a deputy’s back up can be minutes, even hours away.
“It was an intoxicated male in the parking lot causing a scene with other individuals,” recounted Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Ruesch about the call that brought him to the scene. On dash cam video, a man in a yellow shirt walks up to the driver’s side door of the deputy’s vehicle as he arrives outside Terrible’s Lakeside Casino in Pahrump.
“I didn’t want him wandering in the roadway, so I asked him to step off the roadway. He basically refused so I had to go hands on with him,” explained Deputy Ruesch.
Within about 15 seconds of arriving on scene, Deputy Ruesch found himself scuffling to get the upper hand.
“He started resisting and we ended up going to the ground… while I am trying to place him in custody, is when this bystander pulls in front and gets out of his truck and proceeds to help me,” Deputy Ruesch recalled.
With the help of this unidentified private citizen, Deputy Ruesch was able to take the man into custody without injury to himself or the suspect.
“He made a couple statements to the suspect to just comply… he helped with grabbing the suspect’s arm and putting it behind his back,” Deputy Ruesch revealed. Deputy Ruesch, who has only been on the job for 9 months, says he is thankful the stranger had his back.
“Me personally, as the officer who needed the assistance, and I’m sure as the department, we would like to express our appreciation… He probably didn’t want the recognition. He is one of those types of people and kind of the unrecognized hero,” Deputy Ruesch contended.
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill says he is thankful too, that there is no way of knowing what might have happened if it hadn’t been for the citizen stopping and stepping in.
“If he doesn’t want to go on television and make himself known that’s fine but I would love if he would come to my office and have a cup of coffee with me and I’ll say thank you in face-to-face,” Sheriff McGill requested.
Sheriff McGill tells FOX5, while they rely on the community, he never wants anyone to jump in if they feel uncomfortable. They never want anyone to get hurt but any help the public can provide deputies to prevent a worst case scenario is appreciated.
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