The video below is an unnerving video that shows a man, Sammie Wallace, walking through a store clearly looking for a child and then snatching a two-year-old girl. The clearly deranged man then held a knife to the little girl and told the terrified mother to call police. In the end, the officer walked up and shot Wallace point blank in the head when he moved the knife to the girl’s throat and started a countdown.
The tragic scene unfolded in a Walmart in Midwest City, Oklahoma. You can see early in the tape how Wallace spots the girl in cart as the mother and her older daughter do the family shopping. Wallace is clearly not shopping for food as he pushes around an empty cart.
After snatching the girl, Wallace handed the mother a cell phone and demanded that she call a Dallas police officer. What follows is a 30 minute standoff during which the store was evacuated. Wallace reportedly talked about being the wealthiest man in the world and the Illuminati, which is wrongly identified in some publications as a “Satanic group.”
He is given a chair but kept a knife at the girl’s stomach. He then began a 60-second countdown and when he moved the knife to the girl’s throat, Captain David Huff walked up and shot the suspect point blank in the head.
His actions were ruled justified by the district attorney. It is hard to argue with that view. Any effort to wing Wallace in the leg could have resulted in the girl’s death. It was her life that was the priority. A point blank shot also allowed the officer to direct the round away from the girl.
I have to agree with the district attorney on the shooting. What do you think?
Source: Oklahoma City
Don’t play the racist crap here. Evidence is on video. I agree with the possibility of Sammie having a mental illness but when facing extreme conditions especially life or death situations, you have to make the best decision with what’s given and what you have for that given time. I agree with choosing to save the little girls life regardless how. Sammie put her in danger and put her safety and life in jeopardy. The officer did his job and saved the little girl.
I don’t care if he was pink, purple or polka-dotted. This isn’t about race and/or gender; it’s about saving an innocent child’s life. Kudos to the captain for his courage.
And quit with the race card. Nobody cares what color he was the point was he was gonna kill a 2 year old child. The race card is getting sooo old. Grow upp!
okay for all the people saying she was wrong from walking away from the cart try having kids. also she wasnt far she was standing right in front of the cart and the 12 year old clearly was facing the child when she was taken. how do yu expect a mother to grocery shop if she cant take 2-3 steps away from a cart . i think the blow to the head was the best idea ever
Meet force with force….agree with district attorney…
In this situation, the officer made the right move. Their’s no reason to risk a little girl’s life because someone decided to put a knife to there throat and kidnap them. I believe a taser would have been better, but could that of even been fired before this guy made his move. Their’s no reason to kill him just because he’s a bad guy. He’s a horrible human being, but their are serial killers we haven’t killed because their crazy. If their was a way to get this guy off the streets without killing him, that would have been ideal, but I don’t think that option existed here.
The knife at the kid’s throat probably was a larger factor in the decision to shoot, sam.
They only shot him because he was black. The cops were obviously republicans.
I think the shot in the head was the only reasonable solution under the circumstances, thank God it happened the way it did without the innocent getting killed or hurt. This man was not suppose to be out and about walking in society, he should of be in a mental institution.we are not in a save world or environment anymore any where you go.
I do not think the Taser ,would have worked, what if the officer missed and tased the child accidently ? since the only choice the officer had to save the child’s life was to shoot the criminal in the head well I believe he did the right thing. No I don’t think he deserved to die, but that’s the situation the criminal but him self in !
**placed himself in that situation !
I do not think the taser would have worked. What if the officer missed and accidently tased the child. If the only choice the officer had to save the child was to shoot the criminal in the head. I believe he made a RIGHT decision. No I don’t think the criminal deserved to die, but the criminal is the one who but himself in that situation !
OS, Hopefully, unlike a few self righteous folks here, you don’t blame the mother!
Deron…..You are a freaking tool!!!!!!
Darren,
Monday morning quarterbacking is apparently in the DNA. People who have never seen a Taser, much less been trained in its use suddenly become experts. Same for OC/CN spray. You were spot on with your observation about a brainstem shot, which the officer clearly took, from the video made available so far. Of course, all the public video is truncated just before the Captain fires, but we can see what he was trying to do, and apparently did.
There is no advocate for the mentally ill more outspoken than me, but sometimes all the alternate choices are taken away. Based on what we see and read, this looks like one of those cases. I blame neither the officer nor the mentally ill man. I blame a badly broken mental health (now there is an oxymoron) system that allows such things to happen.
Bimbim3838,
The officer could have made a worse mistake with the gun. Either way, you are still taking a chance. Watch the videos, and see what happened when both offenders were tased. Do I want a police officer firing a 9mm at a suspect who is holding my 2 year old? Or Do I want him firing a taser at a suspect who is holding my child? I will let you decide………..
Darren Smith,
I didn’t put you on the witness stand. I wanted you and everyone else to see that it could’ve gone either way. I have much respect for the ‘men in blue’. IMO, I think that they are overworked and underpaid….
RWL
You can continue to arm-chair-quarterback the issue of using a Taser is a panacea to all hostage taking situations and your proffering your expertise in knowing how Tasers work by your reliance upon and use of wikipedia, youtube and ehow.com but until you have actually taken the training in hostage situations, use of force, and actually worked the road where you have had to face these situations don’t claim that you fully know what you are talking about here. I have been through all of that and more. I know what I am talking about.
Every situation is different, just because some officer in Germany chose to use the Taser in ONE situation doesn’t mean that it is the best thing to do elsewhere everytime. Anecdotal evidence is not going to work when making real world decisions about whether or not to use a firearm or a Taser. There are training officers who devote much of their training days teaching other officers when and when not to use either weapon. It is not as simple as you think. It takes a lot of work to know the difference and to make that decision quickly and correctly.
A Taser? Really? You don’t take a chance when a 2 year old’s life is on the line. Tasers don’t always work on people. If it was your child would you want the police to take a chance with a taser. IDIOTS!!!
RWL
Just so that we are clear here. I carried a Taser for four years and YES I am aware of the X3 but I might retort with it is you that might be “a tad late” because the X3 model was Discontinued by Taser International.
Of course you might do your research and discover the X2 could be viewed as its replacement but as far as reality goes the single shot X26 is far more prevalent in the LE world than the X2 is. Just because the X2 has two shots and is the latest and greatest does not mean that every cop working the road has one. Especially considering the cost of replacing the X26 is going to be very costly. The X26 acquisition cost to begin with was high and it is not likely many administrators are going to look at the tradeoffs as being worth the cost to go with the new model. Maybe newer officers might have one, if they are lucky, but everyone I know of, including myself, carried the X26.
It is the same thing with sidearms, just because something new comes out it does not mean everyone goes down and buys one, much less their departments. When I started out in LE most officers carried revolvers and a few carrried model 1911 .45’s. My first duty sidearm was a S&W model 19 .357. I started carrying a Glock 17 9mm in 1990 and when I left the department due to medical issues in 2012 I was still using that same gun.
Such a racist thing to do. I bet if he were white, he wouldn’t have gotten killed. Even if the baby were black, it would have gotten killed.
Poor Sammie, RIP.
D