The officer is expected to be all right -- aside from the missing toe, and all.
The suspect, 51-year-old Charles Ray Dansby, who has a lengthy rap sheet -- including convictions for child abuse, possession of drug paraphernalia, and shoplifting -- was fatally shot by either the detention officer or an MCSO deputy also at the scene after he fired at the detention officer, according to the MCSO.
Dansby was able to retrieve his handgun because Sheriff Joe Arpaio's boys in beige cuffed him in the front, rather than behind his back, which is typically how the MCSO -- and most other law enforcement agencies -- shackle crime suspects.
It's unclear whether Dansby was patted down before he grabbed his gun. MCSO spokesman Jesse Spurgin wouldn't give New Times specifics about the case because (the old dodge) it's under investigation. However, he says it's MCSO procedure to pat down suspects before cuffing them.
Additionally, several other media reports have said the detention officer was in the process of patting down Dansby when the suspect pulled his gun from his waistband and started shooting.
Several commenters on our original post on the shooting (which you can see by clicking here) suggest that the detention officer is to blame for his missing toe because he didn't cuff Dansby behind the back, which gave him the opportunity to pull his gun.
If you ask us, the detention officer probably could have taken some extra precautions, but the reason his toe is now missing is because a lawless thug had no qualms about shooting at a cop -- err...what he thought was a cop (detention officers aren't technically cops).
We want to know what you think, though: is the detention officer to blame for his missing toe?
Cast your vote below.
