Two bullets ricocheted off two officers’ badges – saving their lives – in two separate remarkable incidents in the United States within hours of each other.
The first event happened in Huntington Beach, California. Officers went to check on a domestic disturbance call at a house early Friday morning and followed a man seen fleeing the residence in a car.
The suspect made a U-turn and drove towards the officers before firing multiple shots at them, according to a statement on the Huntington Beach Police Facebook page.
“One round went through the windshield of one officer’s vehicle, striking his badge,” the statement read. “The round deflected off of the officer’s badge.”
The officer was still able to pursue the suspect for a short time, before losing him when the man entered the city of Costa Mesa.
“Adrenaline kicked in, and he didn’t even know he was hit until he pulled over in Costa Mesa,” police spokesperson Jennifer Marlatt told the Orange County Register.
Police say the suspect’s car was found by helicopter a short time later that morning and the California Highway Patrol chased it off the road, where it caught fire. The suspect was found dead inside the car.
The police officer was treated for non-life threatening injuries and released.
Marlatt confirmed that the officer’s badge, which is 100 grams of pure steel, was on the edge of his body armour, which means the bullet was close to hitting flesh.
“It’s safe to say the badge saved his life,” Hungtinton Beach Police Chief Robert Handy told the Register. “This officer was very lucky.”
Handy spoke with the officer later in the day and said he was in good spirits.
The second incident happened in Nevada after police stopped a car holding three people just after midnight Friday morning on a Las Vegas-area freeway, according to KNTV, an ABC affiliate.
During the stop, a man jumped out of the car and fled the scene on foot, before the Nevada Highway Patrol officer pursued him.
Police officials say a gunfight broke out and the officer was hit in the chest, directly on his badge.
“We are grateful the Trooper went home safe to his family,” the department wrote on its official Twitter page.
The ensuing gunfight left the suspect dead. The unnamed officer is on administrative leave until an investigation into the shooting is finished.
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