By Police1 Staff
RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond police chief and mayor are praising officers for their professionalism after a suspect pulled a gun on an officer during a traffic stop.
Police responded to a call on March 7 of gunfire that hit a woman’s apartment, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Three officers patrolling the area received the description of the shooter and pulled over a suspicious vehicle.
According to WWBT, police attempted to detain Donte J. Watts, 24, from the vehicle, but he resisted and pulled a gun on one of the officers. Police Chief Alfred Durham said during a news conference that the officer “felt the barrel of a handgun being pressed into his stomach and heard the click of a trigger being pulled several times.”
The gun malfunctioned and didn’t fire. No shots were fired from either side and no one was injured during incident. Watts was charged with felony assault of a law enforcement officer and use of a firearm in a felony. More charges are pending.
Mayor Levar Stoney praised the officers’ professionalism and “the courage and bravery that they exhibited” with how close of a call it was.
“I think that we can all say that they are heroes,” Durham said. “They showed amazing restraint. Those officers did not fire their weapons, even when they realized that one of their own was in mortal danger.”
Police said five others were in the car. Three were charged with an unrelated offense.
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