By Police1 Staff
ESTERO, Fla. — A bystander came to the rescue of a deputy who was under attack Monday.
According to WINK, Lee County Deputy First Class Dean Bardes was working a crash when he recognized a suspect and tried to pull him over. The suspect fled and Bardes pursued him at speeds of over 100 mph.
The driver exited his vehicle on an off-ramp and attacked Bardes, WZVN reported.
“He just kept beating him and beating him,” witness Shanta Holditch said. She said after the deputy was pulled out of his patrol car, the suspect began “throwing him to the ground and punching him in all different directions.”
A bystander passing by the scene, who had a CCW permit, exited his vehicle and told the armed suspect that if he didn’t stop attacking the deputy, he would shoot him, WINK reported.
Holditch told WZVN the suspect “refused to get off the officer and the officer kept yelling, ‘shoot him, shoot him, shoot him,’ and then he shot him. I think approximately three shots were heard.”
The suspect later died.
Deputy Bardes was rushed to the hospital. He was not shot and is expected to recover.