Virginia State Trooper M.W. Deus never expected a routine traffic stop to go awry.
But he quickly reassessed the situation when the driver attacked him.
But the story of how he survived the attack is a clear miracle at work!
Officer Deus simply pulled over a driver for speeding on a bridge, but when he got out of his car, he smelled the distinct scent of marijuana.
Suspicious, Officer Deus asked the driver to leave the vehicle while he searched it for contraband.
At first, the driver complied and sat on the bridge’s guardrail.
But when Deus was finished searching the vehicle and was heading back to his police car, the driver ran to his vehicle to grab something and then threw it into the woods, which attracted the attention of Officer Deus.
Deus called the driver out on it and was walking back towards the man’s vehicle when the man attacked him.
A fight quickly broke out and “that traffic stop went from good to bad in seconds,” according to eyewitnesses.
Despite Officer Deus’s best efforts, the driver was winning the fight—until two courageous men decided to intervene.
“I noticed the officer get blown backwards toward the guardrail [after] a fight broke out between him and the suspect,” said Jake Barber, one of the men.
Seeing that Officer Deus was in dire straits, Barber immediately pulled over and ran to help—even though he was on his way to a job interview!
Another bystander, Adam, who is trained in jiu-jitsu, joined Barber in the fight, and the two helped Officer Deus subdue the suspect.
“I’ve trained in jiu-jitsu for eight years, five to six days a week, and have been a teacher for over a year now,” said Adam.
“When I saw the trooper fighting for his life, it was pure instinct to stop and help.”
The suspect, who turned out to be a man named Jessy Remigios, was trying to grab Officer Deus’s gun when the two men approached the struggle.
“As I ran to help, the guy had his hand on the trooper’s gun and he yelled ‘he’s going for my gun,’” Adam continued.
“The subject was doing everything he could to get the officer’s gun off his belt,” Jake added.
“That would have been a life-changing moment had that occurred.”
Adam’s jiu-jitsu training paid off, as he was able to tackle Remigios.
“I jumped on the guy’s back and put him in a…choke…until we fell back over the guardrail and I could see he didn’t have the gun anymore.”
“I then held him until backup arrived.”
And backup arrived almost immediately!
Dozens of local police officers arrived on the scene to help contain Remigios and make sure Officer Deus was safe and well.
“It was like the cavalry was sent out,” Jake said describing the scene.
“It was like, where did you guys come from?”
Officer Deus was overwhelmingly grateful for the help in what had quickly become a life-threatening situation.
And Jake and Adam were just glad they could help a law enforcement officer in his hour of need!
“That was divine intervention and in my opinion, the Lord placing me there to just to help in the matter of need,” Jake said.
It’s a tricky time for law enforcement officials across the country, as citizens have repeatedly expressed suspicion and even hatred for police officers.
But to Jake and Adam, the dynamics of our time aren’t important. They just saw someone in need of protection and stepped up to the challenge.
“It doesn’t matter, that’s a human being,” Jake asserted.
“That’s a fellow brother, a fellow sister in this community that’s in need of help.”
“I would do the same thing if the tables were turned. It wouldn’t have mattered.”
Now in police custody, Remigios is facing several charges including assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and possession of marijuana.
Aside from minor facial injuries, Officer Deus is safe and well, and is ready to go back to work and keep protecting his community.
Praise God for His intervention in this situation, and please pray for all our police officers’ safety!
