Grandfather Sticks Out His Leg to Trip Armed Robber, Ending Police Pursuit

The incident was caught on police bodycam footage.

A brave elderly man stuck his leg out to end a potentially dangerous situation, tripping an armed suspect fleeing from police.

Dramatic bodycam footage shows cops frantically chasing the suspect outside a library in Ohio. Without hesitation, a quick-thinking grandfather with a cane stepped in to trip the man with his right leg, which allowed police to get cuffs on him.

Police say Shawn Briggs was armed with a 9mm pistol loaded with 29 rounds.

Inside Edition spoke to the hero, who only wants to be identified as Bill. He said he was at the library with his granddaughter and knew he had to do something when he saw the suspect running toward him.

"I had one opportunity and I had to make the choice if I was going to act or if I was going to be a bystander," he said. 

Bill added that he didn't think there was much form in how he tripped the suspect, saying, "I just stuck my foot out." 

Commander Scott Highland who was wearing the body cam, says the elderly man may have actually saved lives, including that of the suspect.

"It scares me to death what may have been going through that young man’s mind and I fear he, for a split second, had some very ill intentions," the officer said. 

Bill says he uses the cane because sometimes his legs go numb due to back problems. 

After the suspect was arrested, police recovered a Glock 9mm pistol and 29 rounds of ammunition from him. Police said he has a lengthy arrest record.

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