Video of an armed passerby shooting and killing a suspect who was beating a Lee County Florida sheriff’s deputy on the side of the road has been released.
The incident occurred on November 14, 2016, and video of the incident has only just been made public.
When the incident occurred, Breitbart News reported that the passerby came to the deputy’s assistance when he saw the deputy on his back on I-75 and a suspect on top of the deputy, beating him.
WZVN reported that the suspect accelerated when a Lee County sheriff’s deputy tried to pull him over shortly after 9:30 a.m. in Estero, Florida. The deputy gave chase and the suspect “[reached] speeds of up to 100 miles per hour” in an effort to escape. At an off-ramp near Corkscrew Road, the suspect exited his car, walked back to the deputy’s car, and began to beat him.
Video as seen above captures the armed passerby going to the deputy’s aid while others sat in their cars looking on.
The deputy, Dean Bardes, was treated at a hospital after the incident then released.
On February 15, 2017, the Associated Press reported that the State Attorney’s Office ruled that the armed bystander–35-year-old Ashad Russell–“acted lawfully” in killing the suspect, 53-year-old Edward Strother.
Russell, who has a concealed carry permit, approached the Strother and told him to stop beating Bardes. Strother allegedly refused compliance so Russell opened fire.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.