# Suspect fought for cop's gun



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*By NADIA MOHARIB, SUN MEDIA*

Forced to use his Taser, a lone cop managed to slap cuffs on a raging man clad in body armour after an alleged drug deal gone bad turned into a car-jacking. 
Police brass are praising Const. Dave Bailey, saying he was forced to use the stun-gun on the combative suspect who lunged several times for the officer's gun. 
"He is a good officer and did a really good job in this case," said Staff Sgt. Terry Larson. 
The series of events began when security staff at Chinook Centre noticed two suspicious men in a car parked in the Sears lot about 2 p.m. Thursday. As the driver got out, the passenger slid into the driver's seat and sped off.

The suspect fled after ditching the car in a parking lot on 58 Ave. S.W., with Bailey catching up with the alleged bandit in a Vietnamese restaurant on MacLeod Tr. 
When Bailey tried to arrest him, the suspect tossed a bag which cops later found to contain a loaded gun and drugs. 
But the fight was on. 
"The accused pushed (the officer), struck him in the face and there was a bit of a fight and a bit of a foot chase," Larson said. 
When the man didn't comply with the officer's demands, a Taser was used, hitting the suspect's body armour to no effect. 
The second time the Taser was used, it hit the man's hand, which was enough to bring him down. 
Other officers who sped to the mall tracked down the other man from the car. 
Larson said policy allows police to use the Taser when an individual is combative. 
He also said the officer would have been justified in using lethal force given the suspect's attempt to get Bailey's firearm from his holster. 
Cops later found two guns, one in the bag and one in the centre console of the car, about $30,000 worth of cocaine, 20 grams of marijuana and nearly $10,000 cash. 
"Both guns were loaded so these two offenders were ready to do business, possibly with one another," he said. 
Police said the two men are thought to be associates. 
Kovan Yasin, 26, of Calgary, and Claus Decker Pearce, 23, of Brooks, face various charges, with the latter facing, among others, two counts of resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. Both were wanted on warrants at the time.

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/07/12/6138081-sun.html


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