Feb '05

Officer Down!

Blam!

The first bullet she received hit Molly in the shoulder above the line of her body armour.

Blam.

She tried to dodge behind the suspect’s car and was still struggling to draw her own gun when the next bullet tore into her neck. This time she went down and, probably, lost consciousness at that moment.

Blam.

The next shot was fired, callously, as she lay on the ground. It missed.

Blam.

The final shot hit her face and broke her jaw.

Her assailant then walked to his own car and drove away. Two horrified passers-by stopped their car and rushed to Molly’s assistance. Whilst one tended her the other yelled into the police radio of Molly’s patrol car, ‘HELLO! -- hello. Officer down.’

Within seconds the whole of the police department of Colombia knew that an officer was hit. Within minutes help arrived.

The whole shooting incident had taken less time than you have taken to read this so far. It had all been captured on Molly’s car’s video that she had set running when she had made the stop. The gunman had talked with Molly for 39 seconds. Then he produced the gun he had kept hidden and fired that first shot.

He was not difficult to find. He had left his wallet and driver’s licence, which he had shown to Molly, at the scene. His abandoned black Mitsubishi Gallant, with three packages of marijuana and a clip of .380-calibre ammunition in it, was found within minutes of the shooting.

The incident had taken place in the late evening and by morning of the following day police had closed in on Molly’s assailant near to his adopted parent’s home.

Blam.

Police Officer Curtis Brown took a bullet high on his arm.

Blam.

The final shot was the gunman firing into his own head. He died on the evening of that day, January 11th this year, in the local hospital.

He was 23. His life was littered with a string of petty convictions for drug offences. From youth he had been a violent and troubled individual. In a previous brush with police he had been subdued only by the use of Mace gas. His own parents had even to take a court order out for protection against him after he had vandalised their home. It was not as though he came from a poor background. His father was a prominent lawyer with a distinguished career.

Police believe the gunman may have deliberately planned a trap. He had told an acquaintance (police believe he had no friends) that he intended to put out a false call for help and when police arrived he’d shoot them.

But his victim was a person of a different stamp.

The bullets fired into her on only January the tenth of this year hurtled Molly and her family and her friends into a world of pain, grief and horrendous anxiety. At first she was on the critical list and then she was moved to the seriously ill level as she vaguely regained consciousness and her eyes began tracking movement in the room. From early childhood she had been an outgoing individual. Her Christianity meant much to her and she lived by its precepts. She even loved those she arrested and tried to help and understand them. When young, she helped a younger friend who had a riding accident by making the victim get on her own horse and ride it, telling the girl that if she didn’t get on it she might never ride again. As a college student, on a two week stint with the air force, she threw her shoulder out on a parachute jump (alright -- she was a complete tomboy) but that did not stop her from making more. Her first wish was to be a pilot but, after discussing it with a friend, decided to join the police as a graduate entrant.

She loved her job. She knew she was doing socially important and rewarding work. Through the police she met her husband, Corey, and they married less than two years ago in Jamaica. Together they would go riding over the land they owned. Her uncle (her aunt and uncle are great lovers of all things Caithness) described her as having a magnificent zest for life, ‘She lit up a room when she entered.’

And that has been one of the most heartening parts of the whole sordid business. The way her local community rallied round in support was simply inspiring. Hundreds queued to give blood in her name; donations and cards and flowers and cuddly bears flowed in, churches were packed and prayer meetings held for her.. The Rock Bridge High School Football Team made a magnificent effort in collecting donations for her; the comedian John Reep of the sitcom ‘Rodney’ performed a benefit free of charge (remember, this is America where all medical expenses have to be paid for), a special auction and a raffle were held.

Most of all though, it was the outpouring of love and support that sustained her family. Molly had had a meal with her parents during her last shift; a brief half-an -hour affair at her favourite restaurant, because she loved eating out as well. She hugged both her parents and told them she loved them. Then she drove off.

It is too soon to ask why. What is there in the American way of life that can cause such a happening; is it all down to drugs, does the prevalence of violence on the television and the cinema count, is it the inadequate fast food diet that many Americans eat the cause, what is not satisfying in the middle-class life-style that forces young men to the edges. All too soon, too raw. Now is only the time to grieve and to remember that if America produced such a sad character as Molly‘s attacker, it also produced Molly Bowden (nee Molly Thomas) and that says a lot of favourable things about any society.

Molly, at only 26 years of age, finally succumbed to her wounds at approximately 1:00 pm Central Standard time on Thursday, February the 10th. after an incredibly brave fight. If her family are now in the Slough of Despond, as they are, then at least they know, having known Molly, that, up above, there are high peaks perpetually glistening in light.

Monetary tributes to Molly and her colleague Curtis Brown are being accepted via:-

The Officer Down Fund,

Columbia Police department,

600, East walnut Street,

Columbia,

Missouri 65201,

U.S.A.

Cheques should be made out to: Columbia Police Foundation, Inc.

Officer Down Fund.

Thank you