Vest spares deputy shot in traffic stop

Quinton Goodwill breathed heavily as the words spilled out of his mouth: “My chest is burning.”

The Harris County Precinct 7 constable deputy had been ambushed early Wednesday by a gunman during a Missouri City traffic stop. Responding officers rushed to his aid, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Talk to me Quinton,” one deputy can be heard saying over the radio.

“Where you hit at?” another deputy says.

Then, several moments later, a reassuring sign broke through the chatter.

“… One wound, but looks like the vest might have caught the round,” an officer on the scene said.

Authorities later credited Goodwill’s bulletproof vest for stopping the bullet that struck his chest. Another round hit the flashlight he was shining into the suspect’s car. He was released from the hospital later Wednesday and went home with his family to recover.

The shooter, whose name has not been released, was arrested, and Goodwill never fired a shot, authorities said.

“I just know that (the vest) stopped the bullet and saved his life,” said Pamela Greenwood, a spokesperson for the Precinct 7 Constable’s Office. “There would have been a much different outcome” if he wasn’t wearing it, she said.

All deputies are required to wear their vest on duty, she added.

The shooting started immediately after Goodwill, a five-year veteran of the Toll Road Division under the Precinct 7 Constable’s Office, tried to pull the driver over just after midnight near the intersection of Fondren Road and South Sam Houston Parkway.

Traffic had built up around the nearby Missouri City Park and Ride, authorities said, and Goodwill spotted a driver backing up in

the road to avoid the snarl.

The deputy stopped the driver and got out of his vehicle. Gunfire erupted before Goodwill could speak, authorities said.

“It happened so fast,” Greenwood said. “The only thing that the deputy could do was retreat to cover. The suspect immediately started shooting. Instead of showing his hands, he shot at the deputy.”

Goodwill ducked and retreated for cover toward the Metro Park and Ride area, where a civilian on a bike helped him call police, authorities said. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Houston police, METRO police, Harris County Sheriff ’s Office, the Precinct 7 Constable’s Office and a private security firm.

The suspect fled but was caught a short time later near South Post Oak and Interstate 610, about 8 miles away from the shooting.

The bullet that hit Goodwill’s chest never penetrated the vest. The impact, however, did cause trauma, Greenwood said.

The Houston Police Department is leading the investigation, through a department spokesman said early Wednesday evening they couldn’t release the suspect’s identity.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo issued a statement on Twitter after the shooting.

“Incredibly relieved that Deputy Goodwill is safe after sustaining multiple gunshots during a traffic stop last night,” she said in the tweet. “Thankful for our deputies in Precinct 7 and all of our Sheriffs & Constables who risk their lives to keep the people of Harris County safe.”

The Houston Police Officers’ Union also issued a statement calling the suspect a “coward” and addressing “violence against law enforcement.”

“This is how quickly it can happen,” the statement read. “A simple traffic stop and the coward opened fire on (the) deputy constable. Thank God his vest stopped the bullet ... The violence against law enforcement needs to end.”

The last Precinct 7 deputy to be shot in the line of duty was Alden Clopton, who was hit on April 13, 2013, authorities said. The suspect in that case was never found.