Saturday, May 5, 2012

Traffic stop shootout: Suspect killed, deputy in surgery after being wounded near Houston - Chron.com

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Officers work the scene after the shooting along FM 2920 in northwest Harris County on Saturday. (J. Patric Schneider/Chronicle)

A shootout during a traffic stop in northwest Harris County left a deputy constable injured and a suspect dead on Saturday evening.

Harris County Precinct 4 Deputy Constable Ted Dahlin, 39, pulled over a black pickup truck around 5:20 p.m. in the 17400 block of FM 2920, said the department assistant chief Mark Herman, adding that the reason for the traffic stop is still under investigation.

Dahlin

When Dahlin asked the driver to step out of the truck, the man ambushed him with a gun and began shooting, Herman said. Dahlin, who returned fire, was struck twice. He was hit once in the left arm and a bullet grazed his right hand. He was conscious before entering surgery and is expected to survive, authorities said.

The suspect, whose identity was not released, was struck three times in the head, torso and groin. He was taken by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he died.

Dahlin, a 14-year veteran with the Precinct 4 Deputy Constable’s Office K9 unit, was making his last traffic stop of his day when the shooting occurred, Herman said.

“He was just working traffic like he does every day,” Herman said.

Several agencies are investigating the incident.


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