offi cer down Overwhelming Physical Force: The Carl Everett/Linda Mason Incident
T en, without warning, he was knocked off his feet again. He looked up. Choi was leaning over in front of him. T e big wrestler reached down, snaked his power- ful arms around Everett’s upper chest like a boa constrictor, stood up straight, dragging the battered offi cer up with him, and began slamming his hips and legs into the walls. Everett tried a knee to his adversary’s groin, but he couldn’t put enough weight on his injured right leg to get any force behind the blow. Both his fl ashlight and OC spray were missing. He remembered seeing both of them on the fl oor earlier, but a vague fi gure in a suit had picked up the fl ashlight. Everett would later learn that a passing motel guest had snatched up the heavy light, and then stood close by, ready to use it against the wrestlers if neces- sary. He had also dragged the unconscious Mason down the hallway to the lobby to protect her from further injury. Everett was dropped to the fl oor. He tried to get up, but was hit again, this time by Roper. T en, as he struggled up onto all fours, he suddenly felt a tremendous pull on his holstered sidearm. Roper had grabbed the weapon and was literally drag- ging him across the fl oor with it! T en a dispiriting popping sound, as if the reten- tion strap had given way.
“He’s got my gun!” Everett howled as he dove headlong into his assailant’s legs. Hoping to shield his head, he worked it around and behind Roper’s legs as far as he could. T at way Roper might settle for a torso shot, and Everett knew there was a good chance such a shot would strike the back panel of his vest. He braced for the gunshot he was sure would come. T e shot never came. Instead, another devastat¬ing blow landed on the back of his head, and he went down. He wondered why Roper hadn’t shot him yet. He reached for his holster, fully expecting it to be empty. Amazingly, the gun was still there! T e security holster had been badly dam- aged—several rivets had popped off and it was sticking out from the belt at an odd angle—but the weapon was still secure. Everett, unable to see out of his right eye
or to stand on his right leg, crawled over to the closest wall and worked his way up into
66 The Police Marksman Summer 2015
a standing position. He looked up. Roper was still there. T e gigantic man turned, fi xed his gaze on him, and clenched his fi st. Unwilling—and unable–to take another beating, Everett put his hand on his gun and looked Roper in the eye. “No,” he com- manded, “Take one more step and I’ll shoot!” Roper paused, clenched his fi st again, and started to take a step forward. Everett tightened his grip on the gun. Because of the holster’s heavily damaged condition, he wasn’t sure he could draw from it, and, even if he could, he doubted that he would have time get off a shot at this range. Be- sides, he wondered if bullets could stop a man like the one before him. It was pure bluff , but Roper stopped. A puzzled look came to his face. “You’d really shoot me?” he asked.
“You can bet on it,” Everett declared, “Don’t move!”
Roper unclenched his fi sts and lowered his hands to his sides. “Turn around and put your hand on the wall,” Everett ordered. T e fi ght was over, but Roper still wanted to argue. “Why?” he demanded to know. Everett, his head spinning and his legs about to buckle under him, couldn’t aff ord to continue the fi ght. And he was still alone. Four other offi cers were now on the scene, but they, along with Reed and the deputy, had their hands full trying to arrest Choi. Everett couldn’t see any reason to argue with Roper. “OK,” he conceded, “just stay where you are while we arrest your buddy!” Roper continued to argue, but off ered no resistance as Everett glanced down the hall just in time to see Reed slam his nightstick into Choi’s knee with a distinct crack. But Choi merely shuffl ed his foot forward as if to invite another blow, and then charged forward and slammed the sergeant into the wall. He snatched Reed’s stick out of his hand, jammed it into his neck, and de- livered a crashing head butt into the side of his head. Reed slumped to the ground, dragging everyone else down with him into a tangled heap.
Eventually, an offi cer managed to get a
cuff on one of Choi’s wrists. Choi yanked the hand away, and cocked it back as if to use the open cuff as a weapon. At this, the deputy stepped back, drew his gun, and
pointed it at Choi. “T at’s it,” he shouted, “give it up or I’ll shoot!” As with Roper, Choi fi nally seemed to understand the seriousness of his actions. He lowered his hands and let the offi cer handcuff him. It took two pairs linked together to do the job, but the fi ght was fi nally over. With Choi now in custody, an- other offi cer approached Roper and cuff ed him as well. He didn’t resist or argue. As the suspects were being taken out-
side, Everett, his head spinning, reached for a wall for support. He missed, and col- lapsed to the fl oor. Two offi cers picked him up and helped him to the lobby, where he found Mason sitting, now semi-conscious, in a chair. She slowly raised her head and fo- cused her gaze on her partner. “Were we in a fi ght?” she inquired in a weak, near-whisper.
THE AFTERMATH Offi cer Mason lost four teeth and suff ered a fractured skull in the attack. She recov- ered suffi ciently from her physical injuries to return to duty four months later, but was unable to adjust to the emotional trauma of the incident. She left police work on a permanent medical disability, and still suf- fers from permanent numbness to the left side of her face. Considering the severity of the beating he received, Offi cer Everett’s injuries were re- markably light; the most severe being a seri- ous concussion, a lost tooth, and a partial leg fracture requiring corrective surgery about a year later. He, like Mason, returned to full duty four months after the incident. He is still with the same department, and was sub- sequently assigned to the detective division. Roper and Choi were charged with bat- tery to a peace offi cer, obstructing an of- fi cer, and criminal damage to property. Convicted on all counts and sentenced to two years each, both were released after serving approximately 18 months.1
DISCUSSION & ANALYSIS Offi cers Everett and Mason narrowly es- caped death or disabling injury in a sudden unarmed, yet overwhelmingly powerful at- tack that highlights how easily an unarmed attack can become lethal. T is leaves us with the crucial question of when an offi cer
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