A Missouri man is in jail after he used an 11-year-old girl as a “human shield” and then pummeled a police officer who tried to arrest him.
Jeffrey Price has been charged with kidnapping, assault, and other charges after the late Thursday night incident that involved two police calls, KSDK reports.
“We were able to review the body cam footage from the officer and some photographs that were taken from that video and there was just horror on the face of the child,” Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood said.
As for Moscow Mills Officer Sarah Miller, who was hospitalized for her injuries, “she did an outstanding job and showed a tremendous amount of courage and bravery to do everything that she possibly could and put her own life on the line, potentially, in order to save this child and to make sure that she had made it to safety,” Wood said.
Court documents say Miller responded to the first call from a resident who reported that a man was banging on their door because they thought his ex-wife was inside. The document does not say what the disposition of that call was, only that the caller did not know Price and that the officer learned during the call that he had been released from prison an hour later.
An hour later, Miller was called back to the scene by Price’s mother, who said Price “wasn’t acting right.” Miller spotted Price on the steps of a nearby home and called to him, but he jumped up and “hurried inside the residence, shutting the door” behind him. It was not Price’s home, so Miller ran to the door and called for him to come out.
Signed Statement of Probable Cause Jeffrey Price_Redacted by kc wildmoon on Scribd
He didn’t, and Miller went inside, where she saw “Price grab an 11-year-old female juvenile victim by the neck.”
“Price yelled for Officer Miller to get out of the house,” the documents say. “Still holding the juvenile victim by the neck with his left hand, Price placed the juvenile victim between himselr and Officer Miller, using her as a human shield. Price then placed his right hand up against the victim’s neck, mimicking that he had a gun or other weapon.”
The officer yelled for Price to let the girl go, noting that she had “a terrified expression on her face.”
“Still using the victim as a shield/hostage, Price advanced on Officer Miller, telling her to shut the door,” the document says. “Price then struck out at Officer Miller, and yelled for her to go.”
Miller didn’t leave, however, and put herself between Price and the girl, giving the child an opportunity to flee. At that point, Price began pummeling Miller with closed fists. When Miller fell backwards, Price shut the door and locked it then beat the officer again while Miller fought back and yelled for him to stop.
At one point, Price blocked the door, preventing Miller from getting out or other officers from getting in. With Price breathing heavily, Miller told him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. She told him she didn’t want to hurt him, to which Price replied that he was “an assassin.” As the officer tried to gain his compliance, he abruptly said, “I got your gun” and beat the officer again.
Two Lincoln County deputies forced their way inside at that point and took Price to the ground while he kept kicking and struggling against them. The deputies tased him and finally got him handcuffed.
The court document said that Miller, suffering from severe swelling to head and headaches, was taken to the hospital by ambulance. One of the deputies suffered two broken fingers during the struggle.
Price was charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of assault, and one count each of burglary, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting arrest. He was ordered held on a $1 million bond.
According to KMOV, Price was on parole after serving sentences for stealing by physically taking and domestic assault.
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[Featured image: Jeffrey Price/Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office]