With so much negative coverage of the police, we tend to forget that there are brave officers still risking their lives daily in the line of duty.
One sheriff’s deputy in Macomb County, Michigan, reminded us all of that fact Sept. 12 when she entered a moving vehicle to stop an unresponsive driver.
Deputy Nicole Miron and her partner Deputy Anthony Gross encountered a silver GMC Sierra driving erratically as it went south on Gratiot Avenue in Mount Clemens, Michigan, at 2:18 p.m., according to a report by WDIV-TV.
The driver — a 63-year-old man — failed to respond to sirens and lights the deputies flashed at him.
They pulled alongside his vehicle, which going about five miles per hour, and realized the man “was dazed and unable to comprehend the request” to pull over, according to the report.
That’s when Miron made the decision that was captured and posted to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page this week.
Miron could be heard via bodycam, telling the driver to stop, before making the decision to climb from her moving patrol vehicle through the man’s driver-side window.
As her partner carefully steered their vehicle alongside the moving truck, she crawled out her passenger-side window right into the other vehicle.
Upon entering, she asked the driver, “You good? You ok?” after stopping the pickup, putting it in park and switching off the ignition.
Miron explained why the decision was necessary. “As far as stopping that vehicle, I didn’t have any other way or other ideas.”
She assessed the situation, but it seemed that going in was the only viable one. “So before that, I’m thinking of all the options that we have; I mean, there’s not many.”
Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham heaped well-deserved praise on his deputy for such a risky maneuver to save the driver and avoid any damage the vehicle could have caused, according to the Macomb Daily.
“Due to her quick thinking and selfless actions, she safely ended what could have been a tragic situation.”
From the body camera footage, it doesn’t seem like an easy task for anyone to climb into a vehicle, moving or not, through the driver-side window, but Miron explained she felt she was the right person for the job.
“I am a smaller person, so it worked out in my favor,” she said. Had it been one of her larger male colleagues, it might not have ended so well.
The incapacitated driver had reportedly suffered a medical issue while driving, but he declined to comment to WDIV.
Police coverage in the news usually isn’t so kind.
We see the mistakes and apparent instances of brutality and inhumanity amplified.
We forget the people donning a uniform across the country who put themselves in harm’s way for all of us regular folks and will continue to do so.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
