A West Virginia sheriff’s deputy Kristen Richmond received the fright of her life when she was brutally beaten by a 21-year-old college athlete high on an unknown drug while on duty.
Kristen is currently a 3-stripe white belt BJJ Practitioner for 2 years, training at West Karate of Weirton in West Virginia. Her BJJ Coach Troy Fernandez wrote a message on his Facebook profile:
“I just wanted to take a minute to salute Kristen Richmond for servicing our community. These pictures really sadden me but at the same time are a reminder of what goes on within the world today. Kristen is a member of our BJJ program and is a true hero in my book. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Get well soon. Much respect!”
Brooke County officer Kristen Richmond shared photos of her bloodied and badly battered face and her account of the close call on Friday.
Richmond responded to a call at Bethany College where the suspect Brandon Jackson was throwing things out a third-floor dorm window and began to fight with her, breaking her glasses and reaching for her duty weapon.
But Richmond put up a fight, wrestling the 5ft11, 195lbs ‘collegiate male athlete’ who was ‘gooned up on an unknown drug’ for about five minutes.
Officer Richmond suffered a broken nose, fractured sinus, and some other bumps and lacerations to the hands, face, and head.
The incident is under investigation and charges are pending, according to WTHR.
Sharing her harrowing story on Facebook she says she hopes her message gives a ‘swift kick in the a** to a lot of cops’ to take their training seriously and to be there for their partners.
‘They’re your family and when you find yourself in a dark corner at 0300 praying for backup, they’re gonna be the ones who come running,’ she said.
She added cops are ‘normal people’ just like anyone else.
‘We just want to go home after work,’ she said.
“This will probably be one of the rawest posts I’ll write. It’s not for glory or any of that shit. I debated posting anything but, in doing so, my hope is that it serves as a swift kick in the ass to a lot of cops.
Early this morning I found myself in a full-out fight with a 5’11, 195lb collegiate male athlete who was gooned up on an unknown drug (I’m assuming some sort of dissociative anesthetic). It was me and him for about five minutes. During a said altercation, my glasses were shattered and knocked off my face, none of my radio transmissions got out, and a ton of equipment was stripped from my vest and duty belt. I managed to stay in the fight and maintain some control despite exchanging punches and knees with the subject. I secured one of the subject’s hands in cuffs and maintained that grip throughout the majority of the fight. I also released my K9 partner and she did exactly what she trains to do; however, all the K9 bites, punches, knees, and baton strikes did not deter this guy. He wasn’t there. The drug had consumed every part of him. After about 5 minutes of fighting, my partners finally found us (due to lack of comms) and, after several more minutes of fighting, we were able to secure him in cuffs ending the fight.
The following saying comes to mind: Sometimes I had a bad day means that I almost didn’t make it home. While fighting with this guy, he reached for my duty weapon. Given the circumstances (full details are not being disclosed in this post), deadly force was warranted and it was probably getting close to my last resort. Thankfully, it did not reach that point … I think the majority of the credit goes to my training outside of work. I’ve been beaten to hell and back in training so I knew how to react and fight through being repeatedly being struck in the face and head. I didn’t freak out … I knew I was okay and still in the fight. This post isn’t to be all bravado … I got my ass kicked this morning (there’s no doubt about it), but I also gave it right back. Another huge reason it ended the way it did was due to my partners (all 3 of them). My guys found me and my K9 engaged. If it wasn’t for them intervening when they did the outcome probably would have been much worse. I am so thankful for them! They are literally the best partners I could ask for. One of them apologized because I was fighting for so long, which was obviously not his fault at all. My Sergeant was also injured. He left his hospital room to come to mine and said, “I’m probably not supposed to leave my room but fuck it.” He leaned over my bed, gave me a hug, and said, “I love ya, K-Rich!” I trust them fully and know that I never have to worry about if they’re coming.
The purpose of this post is three-fold. First and foremost, I implore you to train! Thank God I do. You don’t want to be in the fight for your life wishing you had done more to prepare for that exact moment. Second, bond with your partners. They’re your family and when you find yourself in a dark corner at 0300 praying for backup, they’re gonna be the ones who come running. Last, but not least, this is for the families, friends, and/or critics. After hours at the hospital and being treated for a broken nose, a fractured sinus, and some other minor bumps and lacerations to my hands, face, and head I went home. I took my bloody uniform, duty belt, and gear inside with me and dropped it on the floor. I took my tired K9 partner to her crate so she could get some much-deserved rest. I went upstairs, undressed, turned on the hot water in the shower, stepped in, and washed his and my blood off my body. I watched it circle the drain not knowing whose exactly it was. Not a lot of people know what it’s like to do that. No, we don’t get into fights like this everyday but they do happen … along with situations that are far worse. Please take a few moments to consider everything that we go through before jumping to conclusions based off slanted media and facts. At the end of the day, we are exactly like all of you “normal” people. We just want to go home after work.
I would like to thank EMS personnel for treating and starting to clean me up on scene, hospital staff for their excellent care, and all of my family, friends, fellow officers, and community members for their calls and messages.”
This will probably be one of the rawest posts I’ll write. It’s not for glory or any of that shit. I debated posting…
Posted by Kristen Richmond on Friday, July 27, 2018
