Sheriff: Man opens fire on 2 Alabama deputies
FAIRHOPE, Ala. (AP) - A shootout that left one Alabama deputy sheriff dead and another in critical condition on Saturday began when they checked on a man at his mobile home and he opened fire on them, authorities said.
Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack told AL.com that gunfire erupted Friday after Michael Jansen pulled a handgun on Deputy Scott Ward and his colleagues outside of Jansen's Fairhope-area home.
Ward was fatally wounded after responding about 4 p.m. with two other deputies to a family disturbance call at the residence. Deputies returned fire, killing Jansen.
Ward, 47, was transported by helicopter to University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, where he was pronounced dead. The second deputy remained in critical condition at the same hospital Saturday afternoon. The third deputy was not hurt.
Mack did not release the names of the two surviving deputies.
Jansen, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The county's Major Crimes Task Force was investigating the shooting, as was the department's internal affairs office. That is standard procedure when any officer is involved in a shooting.
Mack said the initial inquiry suggests deputies followed procedure.
The sheriff told AL.com that deputies approached Jansen on his porch to find out what prompted the initial call.
"That individual produced a handgun and began to fire at the deputies," Mack said. "Two of the deputies were struck by multiple gunshots."
Mack said the deputies, all of whom were wearing bullet-resistant vests, fired back.
Ward had been a Baldwin County deputy for more than 15 years, working on patrol, in the investigations unit and on the SWAT team. Before joining the Baldwin force, he was an officer for the city of Prichard, near Mobile. He was in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Mack said he had recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife.
"Scott stood up ... and he did his job and in the course of the job he made the ultimate sacrifice," Mack said. "Tomorrow we will continue to grieve Scott, but we will have to move on. That's what Scott would want us to do because our mission does not stop."
Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack told AL.com that gunfire erupted Friday after Michael Jansen pulled a handgun on Deputy Scott Ward and his colleagues outside of Jansen's Fairhope-area home.
Ward was fatally wounded after responding about 4 p.m. with two other deputies to a family disturbance call at the residence. Deputies returned fire, killing Jansen.
Ward, 47, was transported by helicopter to University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, where he was pronounced dead. The second deputy remained in critical condition at the same hospital Saturday afternoon. The third deputy was not hurt.
Mack did not release the names of the two surviving deputies.
Jansen, 53, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The county's Major Crimes Task Force was investigating the shooting, as was the department's internal affairs office. That is standard procedure when any officer is involved in a shooting.
Mack said the initial inquiry suggests deputies followed procedure.
The sheriff told AL.com that deputies approached Jansen on his porch to find out what prompted the initial call.
"That individual produced a handgun and began to fire at the deputies," Mack said. "Two of the deputies were struck by multiple gunshots."
Mack said the deputies, all of whom were wearing bullet-resistant vests, fired back.
Ward had been a Baldwin County deputy for more than 15 years, working on patrol, in the investigations unit and on the SWAT team. Before joining the Baldwin force, he was an officer for the city of Prichard, near Mobile. He was in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Mack said he had recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife.
"Scott stood up ... and he did his job and in the course of the job he made the ultimate sacrifice," Mack said. "Tomorrow we will continue to grieve Scott, but we will have to move on. That's what Scott would want us to do because our mission does not stop."
My heart goes out to the families & friends of these officers. Â Prayers and peace to you.
I hope the Ward family will allow an old cavalryman to offer his respects and condolences. Dep. Ward didn't go to work wanting to die, he did his job and his duty knowing it might happen and did it anyway.
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I also want to offer what condolences I can to the Jansen family. I have no idea what got into your relative, and he is now dead because he did something stupid. Nevertheless, he was someone you loved and I understand that you're grieving. I hope that some sense can be made out of this eventually.
What did this guy do? Suck the deputies into his trap? Sure sounds like it.
r cops need proper protection and have for over 40 years! we have the technology! why arent they giving it? marshal law and we the people r flipping a coin that is still in the air? i prefer cops! The keepers of piece,if kept on a rough teen beat ,they can prosper ! marshal law will bring hell to us all, Hitler all over again. reform and republicans only spell communism ! these day , that is not what America will bow down to ! Never! another since less death due to r lack of government supplying us with r own technology . shame to r own people for lack of faith in r government controlled by u
 @maggie112 Our, not r. Sentence ending punctuation does not require a space before the punctuation mark. Sentences need a capital letter for the first word. Also, if you are referring to the Army enforcing civilian law the term is martial, not marshal.
RIP Thank you to all that serve. Law enforcement is one of the most underappreciated jobs out there. It is never good to hear that one has made the ultimate sacrifice for the protection of the rest of us.
Rest in peace officer, and I pray your brother pulls through. Best thoughts and prayers to your friends and loved ones.