Video: Bodycam Shows Deputy Rushing into Gunfight to Save a Mother, Kids
OutdoorHub Reporters 07.29.16
Think your workdays are rough? Spend 6 minutes and 17 seconds in the shoes of this sheriff’s deputy. The adoption of bodycams by many police departments now allow us to witness firsthand the tense situations that many officers are put into, including one dramatic rescue in Deltona, Florida, last Saturday. Deputies from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from a woman who said she was being assaulted by her estranged husband, who allegedly broke into her home with three young children inside. Victoria Rosado told the dispatcher that her husband, Emmanuel Rosado, came armed with a 9mm handgun and an AR-15 that he left on the couch. Rosado asked her husband to put away the weapons before the deputies arrived, but said that only agitated him. The couple had been arguing over custody of their 1-year-old daughter.
“He wants me to sign custody over to him so he could take the baby to Georgia, my daughter,” Victoria Rosado told the dispatcher.
When deputies arrived, including Eric Cheek and Justin Ferrari, they heard a scream and then gunshots. Cheek took cover behind a tree while Ferrari, who was wearing the bodycam, moved behind him. According to a released report, they heard a man shout “you are going to die today.” Just seconds later, a woman crawled out of the front door and behind a car in the driveway. Ferrari rushed forward to help her, and ended up dragging Victoria Rosado to the relative safety of her neighbor’s house. She had been shot in the leg and buttocks.
“I got you, I got you,” he reassured her over the sound of gunfire.
Emmanuel Rosado had opened fire on the deputies, prompting a short gunfight as Ferrari continued to drag the wounded woman toward safety. Ferrari later also helped all three of her children escape the house, and spotted Emmanuel Rosado attempting to sneak out the back porch. The shooter surrendered to Ferrari at gunpoint. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Rosado later expressed regret for shooting at the deputies and endangering his children, although he did not comment on injuring his wife. He currently faces three charges of first-degree attempted murder and is being held without bail.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office commended the actions of its deputies, especially the bold rescue by Ferrari.
“When we say law enforcement officers run toward danger as others run away, this is what we’re talking about. The deputies who responded to this shooting incident yesterday afternoon in Deltona didn’t hesitate; their instincts and training kicked in,” the sheriff’s office stated on Facebook. “This body camera footage is from Deputy Justin Ferrari, who heard gunshots, ran to help his fellow deputies and ultimately carried the shooting victim (and later in the video, her children) to safety.”
You can watch the dramatic video below:
