Officer shoots, kills man during escape attempt

Tremco Anti-Theft System saved this patrol car 

Amarillo, TX - 8/3/02
An Amarillo police officer shot and killed a man early Friday after
the man tried to drive off in a police cruiser, grabbed a shotgun 
inside the vehicle and turned toward the officer, police reported.

The man is identified as Derek Jon Labowitch, 33, said Lt. Ed Smith,
coordinator of the Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit. Smith said 
Labowitch, who gave police a false name and birthdate, was wanted 
in Michigan on a felony warrant. Smith did not release further 
information on the nature of the warrant but said his office will 
continue to investigate Labowitch's background.

According to an Amarillo police report:

Officers responded to a vandalism call about 4 a.m. in the 1400 block 
of South Buchanan Street and began questioning a man and a woman about 
the vandalism. The woman was arrested for failure to identify herself, 
was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car.

The man also was arrested for failure to identify himself and began 
fighting with the two officers who were attempting to handcuff him. 
While brawling with one of the officers, the man tried to take away 
one officer's pistol.

One of the officers suffered a dislocated shoulder and bruises to his 
head during the scuffle.

The man then fled to an apartment as officers chased him. He ran through 
the apartment and jumped into a police car where the female was sitting. 
The man locked the car doors and attempted to put the car in gear and 
drive away.

Officers ordered the man to open the door and broke out the driver's side
window of the patrol car. The man picked up a police shotgun inside the
vehicle and began turning toward officers with the weapon when Officer
Charles Jewett fired three shots, striking Labowitch.

The man was taken to Northwest Texas Hospital's emergency room, where he
died. Potter County Justice of the Peace Nancy Bosquez ordered an autopsy.
Bosquez said autopsy results showed that Labowitch died of gunshot wounds
to the torso. She said two slugs were recovered from the body during the
autopsy.

Wendell Walter, who lives by the scene of the shooting, said he heard 
a quarrel near a downstairs apartment and looked out to see officers 
scuffling with a man near an intersection.

"He had one policeman on the ground, and it looked like he was after
his gun, and another policeman was beating him with a club. That's
about all I seen. He had the other policeman pinned down, the man 
that got shot," Walker said. "I heard three shots."

The injured officer, Officer Todd Peters, was taken to NWTH, where
he was treated and released. The officers will be placed on three
days of administrative leave. The case will be presented to a Potter
County grand jury.

Sgt. Randy TenBrink said the APD doesn't have a policy on whether
officers can leave their cars running after they leave the car to
respond to calls.

Police department policy encourages officers to lock their shotguns
in a rack inside the vehicle, but TenBrink said most shotgun racks
have been removed from patrol cars to accommodate computer 
terminals and other equipment.


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