SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., Dec. 16 (UPI) — The first police officer to pursue San Bernardino shooters Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik after they opened fire at a holiday party remembered the day as “horrific” and lauded fellow first responders for bravery and professionalism.
Redlands, Calif., police Sgt. Andy Capps said he never anticipated encountering Farook and Malik on Dec. 2, an hour after they killed 14 and injured 17 at the Inlands Regional Center. But when he was waved into action by an undercover San Bernardino police officer in plain clothes, his 23-years experience in law enforcement took over.
Capps, the sergeant in command of the midday shift, was driving the first marked police vehicle to follow Farook and Malik in their black Ford Expedition and among the first on scene to engage the couple, who have now been linked to the Islamic State militant group. Capps recalled some 30 to 40 officers taking cover behind his patrol car, all trying to take down the couple.
“I never felt alone or unsafe,” Capps said. “They literally had my back.”
Tuesday, 30 first responders — police officers, dispatchers and paramedics — shared their experience about the fateful day. Many said they were scared but worked off rote instinct.
“We do all the training. I never thought it would happen here” said San Bernardino police Officer Brett Murphy. The heroic moments were plenty on that day.”
Fontana police Cpl. Scott Snyder said, “my body went numb, It was overwhelming and surreal.”
For his part, Capps said he was proud when a group of officers at the shooting scene banded together to rescue San Bernardino police Officer Nicholas Koahou who was shot in the leg in the open street.
“It made me feel very proud and it made me feel very safe, for lack of a better term, in the middle of all that,” he said. “I knew we were all taking care of each other out there.”
Capps said the mass shooting left him and his fellow officers “heartbroken as a department.”
“I’ve been a police officer for 23 years, and it would have been fine if I had made it all the way through without it ever happening,” he said of the shooting. “I mean, that’s horrific to have happened anywhere, but to have it happen so close to home, it just makes you feel even worse.”
