Woman Praised for Moving Car to Shield Cops After Noticing They Were in Trouble: 'I Would Do It Again'
As bullets were flying in Newark, New Jersey, last week in a shooting that left two police officers wounded, one civilian went above and beyond to shield the police and assist a wounded officer.
“The woman … got out of her car and tried to stop the bleeding of an officer and helped drag him safety in the middle of what might have been a gunfight,” Mayor Raj J. Baraka said after the Tuesday incident, according to CBS.
“Our residents in Newark have shown several times over and over again that they are willing to put themselves in the way of police and harm,” Baraka said, according to The New York Times.
The woman spoke about that day to WNET-TV, which agreed not to use her name or show her face on camera.
“That’s who I am; that’s what I do. I try to help anybody who needs my help,” she said.
Baraka said that shooting started after police had closed in on a suspect in an Oct. 28 shooting, according to CNN.
“They gave him instructions; there was a brief altercation; the gentleman pulled a gun out, shot two police officers at close range. Gunshot was returned – fire was returned. The gentleman retreated into the building,” Baraka said.
This is footage from earlier today in Newark New Jersey.
Newark Police responded to a 911 call that was made in regards to a suspect who was involved in a shooting a few days ago. #cops #law #sheriff #blueline #backtheblue #bluelinebeast #blueline #newark #cops #thebluemagazine pic.twitter.com/KDHscoBD3E
— TheBlueMagazine (@TheBlueMag1) November 2, 2022
The woman is shown on video walking to the trunk of her car to get a towel and then trying to stop the bleeding from Officer Johnny Aquino, who was wounded in the neck and shoulder. Officer Jabrill Paul was shot in the leg.
“I wasn’t even thinking about myself. I just put him [Aquino] first,” she said.
“And I wasn’t even thinking about bullets, the only thing I saw was him. And that’s what I was focused on, saving him,” she said.
The woman who works as a nurse with the mentally ill said it was “natural for me to go help someone. That’s what I do.”
“I would want someone to do that for me, my family, my daughter, my husband, my sister,” she said.
Paul was released the day after the shooting. Aquino was released last Friday.
Police have since arrested Kendall Howard, 30, in connection with the shootings. He faces two counts of attempted murder, along with additional counts of unlawful possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes, according to CNN.
Although the woman who intervened was not hurt, her car has a souvenir — a bullet hole in the hood.
When asked if she would do what she did again, she replied, “Of course, I would do it again. That’s who I am.”
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