56-yr-old woman saw police officer being attacked and called 911—then a sight made her jump on the suspect's back
Lifesavers could come from all walks of life. However, no one had expected what a 56-year-old woman did when she saw that a police officer was being attacked. The woman, Vickie Williams-Tillman, had noticed that the officer was in danger and called 911. But then she saw that the attacker had snatched the officer's baton and was attacking him with it, so Vickie immediately jumped into action and ended up saving the officer's life, per CBS News. The woman was driving when she witnessed the entire scene.
Vickie pulled over and saw the police officer getting attacked with his own baton during a traffic incident in Louisiana. She had already called emergency services and informed them about the situation. However, the woman had realized that the call might not be enough to save the Baton Rouge officer, Billy Aime, as the suspect continued to attack him. The woman threw herself on the attacker's back to stop him from hitting Aime and ended up saving him. "You could see it in his eyes that he needed help and I wasn't gonna walk away from that," Vickie remarked. "No fear at all, just walk around." Aime noticed that the woman had pulled the attacker's hand off his gun.
The emergency services team reached the location soon after the call, per WAFB. The Baton Rouge Police Department also gave a special thank you to the woman for saving their officer's life. They shared that a 28-year-old man from Albany, Thomas Bennett, had been booked for attacking Aime, which took place at Harry Dr. off Airline Hwy. South of Tom Dr, per the outlet. The officer was conducting a routine traffic stop and allegedly found drugs in Bennett's car. Aime was trying to arrest him when the situation escalated. The man struggled and snatched Aime's police-issued baton. He also hit the officer in the head. That is when Vickie jumped in to get the man off him.
"She took action and taking action doesn't necessarily mean physical. The call that she made saying that our officer is out here fighting was big. But then her taking that second step was even bigger and she gave that officer a second chance," Sgt. L'Jean McKneely, Public Information Officer for the Baton Rouge Police Department, explained. The additional officers at the scene finally used a taser on the attacker to save the officer and the woman. The woman, the attacker, and the officer were taken to the hospital to get treated for injuries. Vickie had hurt her wrist while Aime was bleeding from his head and mouth. Bennett was taken to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
He was charged with aggravated battery, disarming a police officer, battery on a police officer, resisting police with violence, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug-related items. His bond was set at $167,500. A few days later, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome held a press conference to honor the woman for her bravery during the ordeal. People applauded the woman's bravery in CBS News's comments section. @aneewestern9575 wrote, "That's awesome. You can see the officers are proud of her for acting as backup until more officers arrived. That's what you call a good citizen." @dandsimmons2885 commented, "I want to give her a huge hug! God bless this amazing woman and grant her favor and blessings."