(Bloomington Police Department, IN)
On November 9, 2014, Monroe County Central Dispatch received a 911 call concerning a possible sexual assault in progress. In response, a sergeant and Senior Police Officer William Abram were dispatched. Arriving first on the scene, Officer Abram made his way to the front door of the apartment, which he found to be partially open and appearing to have been forced. He knocked and announced his presence, indicating that it was the police.
Officer Abram observed a male suspect inside with his face partially covered by a scarf, and who was in the act of pulling up his pants. Shortly after hearing a male voice, a shot was fired at Officer Abram from inside the apartment. Officer Abram withdrew from the doorway and sought a position of dominance at the northwest corner of the apartment building. Almost as soon as he arrived, there was a second shot fired from inside the apartment and within several seconds he observed two males attempting to flee the crime scene through a window located in the southwest bedroom, directly in front of his position.
Officer Abram ordered the suspects to put their hands up. The suspects turned and fired yet again at the officer. Only now, with clearly defined targets did Officer Abram respond, firing two rounds in return, striking both suspects. The suspects fled in a westerly direction after the engagement with Officer Abram, who was now joined by the sergeant in foot pursuit. They lost sight of one suspect, but continued to pursue the other until he was taken into custody by additional responding officers. The second suspect was also taken into custody a short while later by other assisting officers, and a third suspect who was operating the getaway vehicle was also taken into custody.
Both suspects that Officer Abram encountered were wounded in the exchange of gunfire and received treatment at an area hospital. It was later determined that the initial two suspects had forced entry into the apartment, and over a period of time, sexually assaulted two 24-year old women at gunpoint before Officer Abram intervened.
Senior Police Officer Abram put himself in the line of fire to stop this brutally violent sexual assault. Despite being shot at repeatedly, he held his fire until he had two clearly defined threats who still continued to engage him with lethal force. When he did make the decision to return fire, he discharged two rounds and was able to successfully wound both suspects who were still on the move in an exceedingly low light situation, a testament to both his skill and decision-making.
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