[narrator] In New Mexico,
a shootout with a lone gunman puts Albuquerque's finest
directly in the firing line.
[Officer Eichel] I felt the pain.
And I looked to see my arm was bleeding profusely.
[muffled gunfire]
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[officer] Two, two.
[narrator] And in Ohio, officers race against the clock
to save two young hostages.
[man speaking]
[knocking at door]
[Lt. Weidman] He was in a high stress situation.
And I could tell that he was willing to risk everything,
and that combination is scary.
[explosion]
[narrator] In the high desert of New Mexico, is the city of Albuquerque.
[Sgt. Kenny] It is, by far, the largest city in New Mexico.
We have a horrendous crime problem.
It is the Wild West.
[police dispatch speaking]
[teen1 speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[teen1 speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[teen1 speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[police dispatch] Albuquerque police, operator 44-60.
Yes, go ahead.
The call that was dispatched was indicating that a high school teenager
had been robbed at gunpoint.
And I can hear that only one officer was gonna be able to go.
Officer Mario Verbeck announced that he was available,
and he would try and meet with the victim.
And I messaged the dispatcher and let her know I would also be en route.
-[car door closes] -[Officer Eichel] I could hear
on the radio,
Officer Verbeck was able to find the victim.
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[teen2] Uh...
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[teen2 speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
Officer Verbeck was able to give me a pretty clear
identifying clothing description.
[teen2 speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[Officer Eichel] The victim who was standing beside Officer Verbeck
pointed out the alleged suspects.
And they were right across the street from him.
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[Officer Eichel] Officer Verbeck gets on the radio,
and I can hear his voice change slightly.
It was more pressured.
As I turn the corner, I can see Officer Verbeck point
to two males walking into an alley.
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[Officer Eichel speaking]
[police radio chatter]
[Officer Eichel] They entered into an alleyway.
It was full of weeds and debris that had been dumped there.
So I quickly lost sight of them.
These people were potentially armed with a gun.
The danger level is extremely high now.
[Officer Eichel] Police! [shouts indistinctly]
[gun fires]
[gun firing continues]
[exclaims in pain]
[Officer Eichel] Shots fired.
[grunts]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[groans]
Officer Verbeck was laying on the ground,
and he let me know he had been shot.
When this happened, I was just slightly ahead of Officer Verbeck.
[Officer Eichel] Police! Stop!
Stop!
[gun firing]
[groans]
-[gun fires] -[man yells]
[Officer Eichel] I felt the pain.
And I looked to see my arm was bleeding profusely.
[police dispatch indistinct]
[gun firing]
[gasps]
[Officer Eichel] And it was then that I realized
I didn't have any more ammunition.
I felt that fear.
I didn't have anything to defend myself anymore.
[gun firing]
I had dropped my radio so I couldn't call out.
Let's go. Move, come on.
I got hit.
As soon as I turned around,
I remembered that Officer Verbeck was with me.
He was also shot.
I... I looked at him and I was ready to...
move him.
But everything was already turning, uh, black and white,
like a gray scale image for me.
[gasps, groans]
And I knew that if I tried to lift him,
I was just gonna pass out, and we were both gonna be stuck there.
I turned around and I ran towards my police car,
and I saw Jacquelin Hernandez parking behind it.
She's a PSA,
a police service aide.
[Officer Eichel speaking]
[grunts] Argh!
[Officer Eichel speaking]
[gasping]
[groaning]
[Officer Eichel speaking]
Mario was knocked down on the ground. He's been hit twice.
I can't imagine the amount of pain he is in.
[Officer Eichel] I wish that I had
the ability in that moment,
to lift him and take him with me, away.
I did hear, "Officer down" several times,
which is a sickening feeling, 'cause you don't know how bad they are.
You can hear in their voices that it's not good.
[Sgt. Kenny] As I'm driving down the road,
I hear, just a ton of gunshots.
I can't tell you how many, but it was a lot.
[engine revving]
As I came around the corner,
I saw, what I think is the second suspect,
exit the alley and run away from me.
I could see his hands were clear he didn't have a gun in them.
And I could still hear the gunfire to my north,
indicating that to me he wasn't the threat.
The threat was still to my right, or north.
[police sirens blaring]
Officer Gunderson has pulled up ahead of me.
I exited my vehicle, went to the concrete wall for cover.
[police radio beeps]
Looking, I see a person's head pop up.
I immediately realize this is our guy.
And he was kind of creeping through the back parking lot.
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[gun firing]
[Sgt. Kenny] When he came around the corner and ran into Harry and I,
I don't think he was prepared for us.
And so he basically stood still in the middle of the parking lot,
and his tactics, I think, were to put as much
ammunition down towards us as he possibly could.
[gun firing]
[Officer Gunderson] There were cars there.
Thank God, nobody was in the cars.
[gun clicks, fires]
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[gun fires]
A round came through the passenger side,
of my far edge windshield.
And I immediately got hit in the eye with something.
I thought it was glass, I wasn't sure what it was.
-[gasps] -[man yells]
So immediately, my eye went blurry.
It started bleeding, it started watering.
I couldn't really see at all
out of my right eye.
-[breathes heavily] -[police radio beeps]
[police dispatch speaking]
[man speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[woman gasps, speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[woman speaking]
[gunfire continues]
[Sgt. Kenny] I went to the rear of Officer Gunderson's vehicle.
I went to the ground, went prone.
Um, my goal being basically to flank him and distract him.
If he has two things to think about, he has to think about me,
he has to think about Officer Gunderson,
and we're not close to each other,
that gives us a much better chance of stopping him.
[gun fires]
[Officer Gunderson] He's still firing.
And we know he's hit. We can see him bleeding.
And he doesn't care.
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[gun fires]
[Sgt. Kenny] And I hear Harry say, "He's reloading."
And I'm perplexed.
[cartridge clicks]
Who are we dealing with?
That he's fired this many rounds,
and he's still reloading and he's still going.
-[gun fires] -[police sirens blaring]
[narrator] Officer Verbeck is still down at the other end of the alley.
The gunman continues to fire, so it's not yet safe for EMS to move in.
I'm angry, because I know I've got officers struck.
I don't know what their condition is.
I'm extremely concerned for them.
[gun firing]
He is still shooting. He was crouched down, just a little bit,
but made no effort to run towards any type of cover.
So I don't think he had any tactics.
[gun firing]
-[gun fires] -[police sirens blaring]
-[gunshots] -[man yells]
[Sgt. Kenny speaking]
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
He kind of started screaming.
But with the shadows of the tree that he was under,
the dark sweatshirt he had on,
we couldn't see where the gun was.
[Sgt. Kenny] Several of our tactical guys, our SWAT guys, showed up.
[SWAT officer speaking]
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[male officer on radio] You want me to start down north now?
[female officer on radio] Does anyone have eyes on the perp yet?
[officers speaking inaudibly]
[police radio chatter]
[Sgt. Kenny] He is clearly hit at least twice.
You're relieved that it's over,
but now you need to start taking stock of what's going on.
I know I need rescue for him, but my main concern is,
is my two officers to the north. What's their status?
[indistinct radio chatter]
[exclaims in pain]
[gun fires]
[Officer Eichel] Shots fired.
[grunts]
[Officer Verbeck] I can hear the bullets whizzing,
breaking through...
the leaves.
[exclaims in pain]
I get shot.
My right arm just f... fell limp,
and just... I couldn't feel anything.
It... My... I dropped my gun.
So, I reached down with my left hand...
[grunts]
I was struck in my left arm.
I just fell flat.
[speaking]
[Officer Eichel] Let's go, come on.
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
Um...
[police radio chatter muffled]
I did fall asleep.
[gunshots]
[Johnny speaking]
[Officer Verbeck] And I woke up, opened my eyes,
and all I'd seen was a head on top of a CMU brick wall.
That normal person, he lived off that area.
He jumped that wall.
[Johnny speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
I just told him, "Get on my radio."
I told him how to, where to press the buttons.
[Johnny speaking]
[Officer Verbeck speaking]
[Johnny speaking]
[indistinct police radio chatter]
Put your hand up.
[man over police radio] So we need fire to the 34... [continues indistinctly]
[shouts]
[man over police radio] We're in the parking lot...
[breathing heavily]
-[police sirens blaring] -[police radio chatter]
I'm here. I'm gonna help you out.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[Officer Verbeck] He jumped the wall, knowing the risk
of this guy, this perpetrator,
just shooting wildly.
But once he got me on my feet,
and he got me gathered, and we walked out...
I was just thankful for him,
for having the courage to come help me,
an officer in need, an officer that was down.
Because, if not, I would have been
just laid there, and I don't know what would have happened.
[indistinct police radio chatter]
[Officer Eichel] You know,
you watch TV, and the way it's portrayed is
people think of all their memories.
And I was the opposite.
[groans in pain]
[man] Don't worry about it.
[Officer Eichel] What I did think about was what I would miss,
if I died.
-[groaning] -Don't worry about it.
[Officer Eichel] If it pierced my heart,
then I was gonna miss a lot of important days.
You're doing good.
[Sgt. Kenny] Officer Jones walks up to me and he goes,
"Hey, are you okay? Are you hit?"
And I'm like, "No, I'm not hit."
So, he starts checking over me.
He looks and he points at the middle of my chest,
and he goes, "Is this hole new?"
And I'm... What hole?
So, I look down and there's a little hole in my plate vest.
And I keep a notebook, um, right in the front of my vest.
He pulls the notebook out and there's a bullet hole in it.
And so, it's pretty clear that,
yes, I was, in fact, shot in my, in my chest.
[woman speaking]
[Officer Gunderson speaking]
[woman speaking]
[Officer Gunderson] I did have surgery that night.
Uh, they removed the... [sighs]
...shrapnel and put, I believe, seven stitches in my eye.
I'm 100% recovered from that.
[narrator] The shooter is James Ramirez,
a 27-year-old, with a previous conviction of first degree burglary.
He came from California to New Mexico.
He'd only been here a couple of days.
And he had enough money to buy the gun and buy the ammo.
But yet, he's out, using that to jack kids for their backpacks.
[Officer Gunderson] The fact that he's willing to shoot
four police officers? [exhales in huff] For what?
For a video game?
[narrator] In February, 2022, James Ramirez dies in custody,
while awaiting federal charges.
That is my reminder.
And, uh...
looking at it,
I'm... I'm grateful that that's all I ended up with.
[police sirens blare distantly]
The command staff of our police department
asked if they could escort me home.
My kids were able to sit in the police cars,
and we were able to make lots of noise with sirens,
and drive home together.
[Officer Verbeck] The first person I see once I started waking up,
is my wife,
telling me that she loved me.
[gasps]
The doctor was telling me I was shot in the chest
just above the collar line of my vest.
And it was just right below the trachea area, here,
and then in the backside of my... my tricep.
He told me that
I was a miracle to be here.
My wife and I renewed our vows,
to celebrate our 30th anniversary
that we never got to celebrate,
because I was in the hospital.
Johnny Garcia was my best man.
[all applauding]
He saved my life and I owe him my life.
[Officer Eichel] Mr. Garcia...
took it upon himself to risk his own life,
to jump into this,
to get to the middle of where everything was taking place.
Johnny Garcia is a hero.
[St. Kenny] Johnny Garcia was honored by the mayor's office.
I don't think there's a whole lot of Johnny Garcias on this planet,
you know? I really don't.
You know, especially... Look, let's be honest,
um, law enforcement in this country
has kind of been run through the wringer for the last few years.
And, uh... [coughs] ...sometimes we feel alone.
And the fact that he did what he did, shows that we're not.
[narrator] 49 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio,
is Uniontown, in Stark County.
[phone line ringing]
[police dispatch speaking]
[woman speaking]
[police dispatch speaking]
[woman speaking]
[narrator] Lt. Nathan Weideman responds to the call.
[Lt. Weidman] As a lieutenant, here at the police department,
I respond, 24 hours a day, to critical incidents.
I'll come out and I'll be our incident commander.
They told me the address and the suspect's name,
and I instantly knew, from the history that we had, it wasn't gonna be good.
We'd been responding to "shots fired" calls,
"fireworks calls," for a period of two months,
and this was all related to our suspect.
This person just got out on bail, this same day.
[knocking at door]
[dog barking distantly]
[dog barks]
[Jason speaking]
[officer1 speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[officer1 speaking]
You have a [bleep] night.
[officer2 speaking]
-[officer1 speaking] -[officer2] That truck?
[officer1 speaking]
[officer2 speaking]
[officer1 speaking]
-[officer2 speaking] -[officer1 speaking]
[officer2 speaking]
[officer1 speaking]
[officer2 speaking]
[officer1] Yeah.
[officer2 speaking]
[officer1 clears throat] Um--
[officer 2 speaking]
[officer1 chuckles softly]
[Lt. Weidman] We obtained a warrant for the charges that we had at that time.
He was incarcerated in jail for less than 24 hours,
released on bond that day,
and eight hours later, we were dispatched out to his house for this call.
When I found out that there were children in the house,
and the circumstances surrounding it,
saying that there was gonna be explosions,
there was gonna be loss of life,
as a father, as a person, it's absolutely terrifying.
[narrator] Lt. Weidman gets a chance
to end the standoff right away.
As I was talking to our officers,
our dispatch said that they were on the phone with him.
I asked for them to transfer him to my cellphone.
As soon as my cellphone rang, I knew that it was him.
It was go time.
[phone ringing]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
I could tell that he was in a high stress situation.
And I could tell that he was willing to risk everything,
and that combination is scary.
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman] I quickly understood that the girls were in there,
and he wasn't willing to negotiate. He just wanted us gone.
So my main priority was making sure that the girls were gonna be safe
and then getting them out of the house.
[Sgt. Manser] I received a call from our dispatch.
They said that they had received a call
from Uniontown Police Department,
had a situation in which they could need more backup.
And asked, uh, for any and all officers available to come assist.
[officer speaking]
[police radio chatter]
[Sgt. Manser] That perimeter is extremely important.
If you are on one side of the house,
there's three other sides that things could be going on, that you're unaware of.
[police radio chatter]
-[officer speaking] -[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[bleep]
[officer speaking over radio]
[Sgt. Manser] You think the worst,
it could be a firework, it could be a gunshot.
The main focus and concern is to get up to that house,
and see what's going on.
I walked up and took cover behind a tree.
We were looking over the whole unit.
It was an apartment complex, there were several units attached to it.
And the side we were on,
it was basically, a three story apartment complex.
So, we had an upstairs bedroom,
uh, middle floor patio, and a basement door.
[Lt. Weidman] Well, we can't--
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Sgt. Manser] If you work a midnight shift, you use the cover of darkness well.
You do not wanna be seen by the suspect.
You wanna have that element of surprise.
If he doesn't know where you are,
you definitely have a tactical advantage.
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
I got concerned.
If he was at that door, he was clearly looking for us,
or trying to make our location.
That would have taken away that element of surprise,
and it would have been extremely dangerous for us.
[narrator] Lt. Weidman, again, tries to get the suspect
to release the children he's holding hostage.
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman] The fireworks that our suspect has been using,
they're commercial fireworks.
So we know that the explosives is enough to definitely do some damage.
It was a tough situation.
The dilemma that we had on this call,
is that we wanted the girls out safely, we wanted him out safely,
but then he would make the comments
that if we breached that door, we were all gonna die.
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[explosion]
We could hear the hiss of the firework getting ignited.
And he threw it out towards our direction.
It was an extremely scary situation.
We were basically inside a firework when it exploded.
We had green and red cinders flying past us.
He was definitely sending a message to us
that he was aware of us and was willing to hurt us if he needed to.
[officer speaking over radio]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking over radio]
[Sgt. Manser] You have to focus on the suspect and his actions,
while you're still trying to get those neighbors out.
[rustling]
[beeping over phone]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[beeping continues]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Jason speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
-[beeping continues] -[static over phone]
[small explosion]
-[clicking] -[beeping continues]
[Jason speaking]
[phone clicks]
My conversation with our suspect lasted for 31 minutes.
There were some explosions that we heard, and the telephone call ended.
So, hearing all that, it was a scary situation.
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer] Over here?
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[explosion]
When that bang went off, we were concerned, so we started to retreat.
We knew he had firearms, so that's always a probability there,
that he could spot us, he could see us and shoot at us,
or shoot in our direction.
[Lt. Weidman] I was in the front, the north portion of the house,
so I could see the windows in the front.
And when they were exploding inside,
it looked like a complete flash of light.
So I knew that there were definitely strong fireworks going off.
Knowing that he was willing to escalate things,
to blow off explosives inside the house,
we weren't sure if his kids were really a priority to him at that point, or not.
[knocking]
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser whispering]
[officer] Watch it.
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[female officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser] All right.
[female officer speaking inaudibly]
-[girl crying] -[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[girl speaking]
-[Sgt. Manser] Oh, jeez. -[officer speaking]
[girl screaming]
[Sgt. Manser] Oh, dear God.
[officer speaking]
[girl crying]
[coughing]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
-What? -[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser] We're being loud now,
our tactical advantage is gone.
We're openly talking to the daughter.
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer speaking]
[girl crying distantly]
[officer speaking]
[female officer] Okay.
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
-[officer] Or, honey... -[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer] ...if you scoot to your left, I can catch you.
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[girl speaking]
[Sgt. Manser] I was right by one of the neighbor's apartment complexes.
The door was open. I went in, to get a ladder.
That would have been the area where somebody would have kept a ladder.
[officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[officer] Yep, good. Drop.
[Sgt. Manser] She's gonna have to climb out of a third story window,
hang from a gutter and dangle herself to drop
straight to the deck below her.
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
-[Lt. Weidman speaking] -[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[police dispatch over radio] 109, do you have a portable ladder?
[Sgt. Cline] Yep.
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
-[Lt. Weidman speaking] -[Sgt. Cline speaking]
Yep, come on.
[Sgt. Manser speaking] It was pretty harrowing to watch.
She got on the deck, jumped down into Sgt. Cline's arms,
and he ran down and took her to an awaiting ambulance.
[Lt. Weidman] I went over there to help Sgt. Cline
get her off the balcony.
So, that was a great feeling, seeing her get into our arms.
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl's response bleeped out]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl speaking]
[Sgt. Cline] All right.
[girl mumbles inaudibly]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl screaming]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
-[girl speaking] -[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl speaking]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl gasping]
-[Sgt. Cline] Huh? -[girl continues]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
-[girl] Yeah. -[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[girl speaking]
[Sgt. Cline speaking]
[Sgt. Manser] That was an extremely tense moment.
We knew she was inside,
we knew she needed help and we needed to react.
Let's go.
When I looked through the basement door,
uh, the whole ceiling was coated in, uh, red and orange flames.
Uh, the smoke was billowing out of the house, uh, much more faster now.
So you had the, the smell of the smoke in the air,
you could hear the fire cracking, the fire popping.
It was definitely something where you knew you needed to react,
and we, we needed to do something now.
[officer] Hey, you guys got the shield?
[Sgt. Manser] 1-4-1, bring that shield around here.
[officer] Okay.
We needed to breach that door.
[indistinct police radio chatter]
[officer speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
The smoke is a wall. It hits you right in the face.
[Lt. Weidman] As soon as that door opened, my first feeling was
that there's no way she's alive.
There's no way anybody, especially a little girl
could live through the smoke, the heat, the flames.
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
Hang on, one sec.
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[Lt. Weidman speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[female officer speaking]
[Sgt. Manser speaking]
[girl speaking]
[Sgt. Manser in muffled voice] Good job, good job.
She was on the floor, on all fours, crawling towards me.
It was just an overwhelming sense that she was okay,
and that we were gonna be able to save her.
One of the best moments in, in my career.
There was no more contact with the suspect.
We had no more dealings, no more contact at all.
We couldn't rush in there,
under the seriousness of what was going on with the fire.
We couldn't risk our safety.
[narrator] Firefighters work for hours to extinguish the blaze.
Police find Jason Tyo dead in a back room on the second floor.
He died from the effects of the fire, including smoke inhalation.
His death was recorded as an accident.
It's hard for me to try to figure out what his motives were.
A lot of the times, we end up dealing with people
that are in some kind of crisis.
It's so unpredictable.
[narrator] Both girls are treated by EMS at the scene,
and released without injury.
[Lt. Weidman] To find out that they were not injured at all,
it wasn't smoke inhalation, it wasn't physical burns,
that was the best news that I heard all night.
[Sgt. Manser] There's definitely an adrenaline dump.
I felt a feeling that I've never felt before,
in, in 22 years of law enforcement.
It was a pretty overwhelming sense that
those kids were gonna be safe.