Thursday, February 04, 1999

Wild shootout follows Ky. bank robbery

---

Suspect allegedly fired into cruiser

BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Officer McGuffey fired back at suspect through the windshield of his cruiser. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        COVINGTON — A mid-morning shootout Wednesday on a downtown Covington street ended with two bank robbery suspects in jail and an entire police department amazed their officer escaped unhurt.

        Officer Mike McGuffey was driving along Pike Street, trying to stop three men who police believed had just robbed a Fifth Third Bank branch on Madison Avenue and fled on foot.

        As the men ran, one of them pulled a 9mm semiautomatic pistol from his coat pocket and started firing directly into the police cruiser. Officer McGuffey unholstered his gun from his right hip and fired back through his windshield, apparently scar ing the shooter enough that he dropped the gun, dove flat onto the sidewalk in front of an appliance service store and let Officer McGuffey handcuff him. The suspect was not injured.

        Police said the suspect fired at least four shots at the officer, and the officer fired “multiple shots” in return.

Mike McGuffey

        “This is one incredible day in the life of Mike McGuffey,” said Lt. Col. Bill Dorsey, assistant chief. “And it's one he'll never forget.”

        The windshield was sprayed with bullet holes. Investigators determined that all of the holes were made by Officer McGuffey's return fire. All of the accused robber's shots appar ently missed not only the officer, but the cruiser, too. Officers were searching the shooting scene Wednesday to determine where bullets may have landed.

        The incident left the alleged shooter, 23-year-old Antonio Jordan, of Cincinnati, charged with attempted murder. He and Donald Evans, 23, of Covington, also face two counts each of robbery — one for the bank, where a teller helped them fill a flowered pillowcase with an undisclosed amount of money, the other for their alleged robbery of a customer inside the bank.

        A third suspect escaped, but

        police said Wednesday afternoon they know who he is and that they expect to arrest him soon. Capt. Steve Wills, chief of detectives, also mentioned a possible fourth suspect, but said only three entered the bank. The FBI is also involved in the investigation, and federal charges are expected to be added.

        Officer McGuffey, 35, will mark his 10th year on the force next month. He is also a bike patrol officer and has been trained in SWAT. His supervisors did not want him to talk with reporters.

        By afternoon, he was home on paid leave, per departmental policy. He will remain off duty for an unspecified amount of time — whatever he needs, Lt. Col. Dorsey said, “so he feels comfortable coming back to work again.”

        The robbery took place just after 10 a.m. at the bank, at Sixth Street and Madison Avenue. The three men, in masks, entered the bank with their guns drawn — a dramatic method, in comparison to other recent Northern Kentucky bank robberies in which the robbers quietly pass the clerk a note and leave, sometimes noticed only by the teller.

        They left the bank on foot. Mr. Evans was arrested after he jumped into a van that happened to be sitting — with the driver inside — on the escape route. Police saw him get in the van and arrested him quickly. The van driver was interviewed, police said, but they determined he had nothing to do with the robbery. Mr. Evans also was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant for an unrelated case.

        It is not common for a police officer to be shot at, Covington officials said. Or for an officer to even draw his or her weapon, much less fire it. Lt. Bucky Gurren, a 19-year veteran who was second on the scene Wednesday, has never fired his weapon in action.. Neither has Lt. Col. Dorsey, a 28-year officer.

        The last time a Covington officer was shot at was last June, when a man at a nursing home fired at Officer Kevin Brady. No one was hurt, and the man later died in jail. Before that, the last shooting was in April 1996, when the department's SWAT team was shot at by an Erlanger man. They returned fire and killed him. It was the 20-year-old team's first and only shooting. No one on the department could remember any others.

        The last time a Covington officer shot and hit someone was in July. An officer fired at a man after he aimed a gun at them while they were trying to arrest him for a dispute with his girlfriend. He was critically injured, but he recovered.

        Covington officers are trained in what to do when they're fired at. But no class, Lt. Col. Dorsey said, covered what an officer should do when he's trapped in his cruiser with a gun leveled almost directly at him. Officer McGuffey followed department policy, the assistant chief said, which allows officers to fire their weapons when they believe their life or someone else's is threatened.

        Capt. Wills bristled at a question about Officer McGuffey's actions.

        “If that's what it takes to protect ourselves,” he said, “we're going to shoot back.”

       

---

Seven days in jail 'like a bad movie'
Enquirer family mourns Lynn Goodwin Borgman
Shot fired through family car at stoplight
Wild shootout follows Ky. bank robbery
Way cleared for execution
Death penalty opponents rally at courthouse
City will hand out 5,000 free trigger locks
Fertility science has come a long way since 'test-tube babies'
Tristate fertility clinics have below-average success rates
Area illnesses among bad meat's casualties
Safety cost for schools is $7.6 M
School worker put on leave in missing $10,000
Trench collapse first test for emergency rescue unit
Cow born free in Amberley
Cammy winner rocks 'bluesical'
Female officer files harassment complaint
New landmark honors river history
Officer refuses counseling, says he'll fight charges
River cities consortium plan could get rolling within weeks
Taft coach had good record before arrest
West Side development plan OK'd
Moorman may make another run
12th Street debate continues
Burglars hit Hamilton jeweler again
Butler Co. black history events abound
Kentucky GOP will celebrate '98 wins
Lawsuit alleges fire dept. age bias
Mall roof debate grows political
New radio system to streamline Metro
Opponent gets Cleves council seat
Prosecutor to appeal ruling striking down 'Megan's Law'
Rescuer charged with arson
School memories dusted off
Schools hope to avert bus drivers' strike
Surveyor finally sworn in to office
Tax request goes back to drawing board
Three tax evaders are found guilty
TRISTATE DIGEST
Two cameras let firefighters see in smoke