Officers honored as heroes for rescuing burglary suspects

There was a point when Robert Newton’s instincts contradicted his training.

Cape Girardeau officers had chased two suspects for several miles north on Perryville Road, with the alleged burglars driving ever faster and more erratically along the narrowing road.

Newton believed a crash was inevitable, although they had contacted sheriff’s deputies to intercept the suspects as they ventured farther north into Cape Girardeau County about 8:30 a.m. Jan. 27.

The U-haul pickup truck did indeed veer off the right side of the roadway, slamming into a creek several yards down an embankment along County Road 638.

Officers never lost sight of the truck in the chase and exited their vehicles near the crash.

From their vantage point, they could tell the truck was in bad shape; the vehicle was wedged into a v-shape, with the front end mangled beyond recognition from the brunt of the impact.

Newton was one of the first officers on foot, and he waited, looking into the cab of the truck to see whether there was any response from the fleeing suspects.

Within five seconds, the front end of the vehicle was on fire, and Newton and his fellow officers were forced into action.

Newton had trained for this scenario.

It’s ill-advised for an officer to rush up to the window of a crashed vehicle, because that’s a good way to get shot. In this case, officers were unsure whether the suspects had weapons inside.

“Obviously we were concerned with our safety,” Newton said.

Newton was the first on the scene at the address in the 2000 block of Stephen Drive before the chase started, and all he had seen was a man in a blue sweatsuit running into the U-haul truck.

Officers thought these particular burglars might be professionals.

The modus operandi at this burglary — a detached electric meter allowing the burglars to avoid tripping a security system — was the same as in other recent burglaries in the city.

Once the fire started, Newton’s thinking changed.

He was willing to risk getting shot to save the lives of the man and woman inside the truck.

Officers pulled the man and woman from the windows of the vehicle. They had suffered multiple broken bones and other severe injuries, but they were conscious, talking to the officers as they were treated by medical personnel at the scene.

Newton said he does not remember much of what was said, but “thank you” was not part of the conversation.

“You can’t just let them die,” Newton said. “These opportunities don’t come around very often. I feel like any other officer would do the same thing. I was happy to be at the right place at the right time. It’s good to know we were able to help somebody and save their life. It’s what we do.”

Cape Girardeau police chief Wes Blair gave a short speech when Newton and officers David Templeton, Gabriel Yoder and Shaun Alsdorf were recognized at the Cape Girardeau City Council meeting Monday.

They received a standing ovation from the crowd at Red Star Baptist Church.

“These officers are heroes,” Blair said. “Officers know that I don’t say that word lightly, but in this case they were.”

Charges have yet to be filed against the burglary suspects, in part because they are still in a Cape Girardeau hospital, public information officer Adam Glueck said.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

2900 block of County Road 638, Cape Girardeau, Mo.