Fort Worth Cops Save Armed Suspect from Burning Car in Dramatic Video

"These officers respect life, no matter who it is."

ByABC News
July 28, 2016, 11:08 AM

— -- Police officers in Fort Worth, Texas, went "above and beyond the call of duty," a Sergeant said, by running towards a burning car to save an armed robbery suspect who tried to flee. The dramatic rescue was caught on body cam video.

The July 16 incident began when a burglary was reported at a home. While suspects were removing property from the home, they allegedly pointed a handgun at people outside the home, Fort Worth Police Sgt. Marc Povero told ABC News.

Police were given a description of the three suspects and the car and, when officers responded and spotted the vehicle, they tried to make a traffic stop, Povero said.

The suspects tried to evade officers, at one point reaching a speed of more than 100 miles per hour, he said. The car ran a red light and was t-boned by another car, which caused the suspect's car to catch fire, he added.

One person fled on foot and was pursued by police, Povero said.

"The officers -- knowing that there were weapons involved in the robbery -- were very cautions about how they approached the vehicle," Povero said. The officers removed one suspect from the back of the car and detained him.

They also saw an unconscious person in the front passenger seat, Povero said. As they were trying to extricate the person, the engine caught fire, increasing the flames.

"Disregarding" the fact that a gun was involved, Povero said, an officer went into the car from the driver's side, reached over and freed the unconscious person's legs, then pulled the person out from the passenger side.

Povero said he was not aware of any major injuries and the unnamed man rescued from the vehicle was treated at the hospital and later released.

A handgun was found in the car, as well as some of the stolen property from the house.

The officers at the scene "went above and beyond the call of duty by pulling a man from a burning vehicle that could have been armed," Povero said.

"They disregarded their own safety to rescue a suspect in a robbery, which proves that officers value life, no matter if it's an upstanding citizen or someone that's been accused of a crime," he added. "These officers respect life, no matter who it is."

The driver was arrested for evading arrest/detention in a vehicle, Povero said. The robbery case is still under investigation.