Photo: Bystanders help officer subdue suspect; KIRO
A bystander came to the aid of a police officer who was being attacked by a suspect, after a radio failure and Taser failure, according to a KIRO news report.
Officer Spencer Bernsten of the Bremerton Police Department (Washington) responded to a call involving a man who punched out a glass window at a fast-food restaurant.
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Officer Bernsten confronted the suspect, Kenneth Jackey Lane in the parking lot. Bernsten said that Lane was immediately hostile, and repeatedly was saying, “Let’s do this. Let’s go.”
Bernsten also said that Lane initially complied with commands to get on the ground and did so.
But then Lane got up. Bernsten called for another unit to respond—but his radio transmission failed.
Officer Bernsten then tried to deploy his Taser—but the cartridge failed.
Suspect Lane then punched Officer Bernsten in the head, grabbing him, and putting him in a headlock. Bernsten then emptied the Taser cartridge and tried to “dry stun” Lane, which also failed.
That’s when bystander Kelly Bounds decided to take action, as other bystanders were video recording the incident on their cellphones.
Bounds said he saw Officer Bernsten being attacked by Lane. Bounds said, “He jumped up, he swung at the officer two or three times, got into a head hold, and I saw the officer’s face plant in.”
A video shows Bounds coming to the aid of Officer Bernsten. Bounds began punching the suspect in the head, although the suspect soon began to fight with him as well.
Then another bystander joined to help Bounds and Officer Bernsten subdue the suspect: 33-year-old convicted felon Kenneth Jackey Lane, who was arrested and charged with assault in the third degree and malicious mischief in the third degree. Lane’s bail was set at $275,000.
Officer Bernsten said he had arrested Lane many times before and said that the suspect’s parents called him, and said: “We’re sorry. We didn’t raise our boy like that. He’s got some problems. You could have shot him. We’re glad you didn’t shoot him.”
