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The Myrtle Beach City Council on Tuesday honored Ripley's
Believe It or Not security guard Jawara "Jay" Legette for
his role in saving a Myrtle Beach police officer and
bystanders when a traffic stop went awry. Legette, who works
for Excalibur Security, received a plaque and the thanks of
the City Council and the police department, as well as a
standing ovation from the audience at Tuesday's meeting.
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Dozens of people along Ocean Boulevard on Wednesday night
were horrified to see a man slamming his car into other
cars, all while police say an officer was hanging on to the
side of the man's car. That man is now facing 10 counts of
assault with the intent to kill, resisting arrest with a
deadly weapon along with several drunk driving charges.
Witnesses say the man driving seemed to have no regard for
property or people nearby and it took police and one quick
acting security guard to stop him. "I was terrified,"
recalled Dee Die, who is visiting the Grand Strand from
Kentucky. "We were stopped at the red light in front of
"Ripley's Believe It Or Not" and next thing we know somebody
just plows you into the back of us. Then we hear this cop
saying 'I told you not to move, I told you to stop,'" added
Die.
Police say driving that reckless car was Clark Tuttle.
Witnesses say, with dozens of pedestrians nearby, Tuttle
continued his destruction, all the while, a Myrtle Beach
Police Officer was hanging on the side of the car. Police
say Tuttle slammed into several other cars, to try and shake
the officer. "He was either trying to kill the cop or get
him off of the mirror," said Die. Close by, on duty at the
Ripley's Museum on Ocean Blvd, was Excalibur Security Guard
Jawara Legette.
"I heard an officer yell," recalled Legette, "So, I
immediately ran to the street and saw white truck with a
driver trying to get away. I ran over to the passenger side
door -- the door was locked -- so, I just jumped in the
window, threw the car in park, took the keys out of the car,
pushed the guy out of the car." "It was one of the coolest
things I've ever seen, because I don't what made him react
that way but I'm glad he did because the driver would have
hit us again for sure," said Dee's husband, Mike Die.
Legette said the most satisfying part was "being able to
help the officer, he's the real hero in the matter, he's the
one that initiated the stop. Anybody would have done it, I
was just the closest one to the action," said Legette. But
not everyone did do it. "He saved not only our lives, but
there was cops all over the street, he saved everybody's
lives, and he just walked over to the side and didn't want
to be noticed at all," said Dee Die. Legette stresses he was
just reacting and just doing his job. Though there are
dozens of people also there that night who think much more
of him.
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Four Officers of
Excalibur Security and Investigations received awards for
heroic actions during a ceremony hosted at Ripley's Aquarium
on July 14th. A summary of each Officer’s citation is listed
below.
The ceremony was
arranged by Kim Kiff, General Manager of Ripley's Believe It
or Not on Ocean Boulevard and was to honor Officer Jay
Legette for his actions while on-duty at her property. Ms.
Kiff was kind enough to allow Excalibur management to
recognize three other officers during the event.
Officer Jawara “Jay” Legette: (Full Story
above) Legette, while on-duty at Ripley’s Believe It or Not,
witnessed a situation where a Myrtle Beach Police Officer
was assaulted and dragged a block on the boulevard by an
impaired driver. Legette dove into the suspects passenger
window, disabled the truck and pushed the suspect out of the
vehicle to waiting police. Witnesses indicated that his
actions saved people from being injured and probably killed.
Legette received a Meritorious Service Commendation and
associated uniform ribbon.
Captain John Dooley: While on-duty on the
South end of Myrtle Beach, Dooley located a shooting suspect
from the previous night. At the same time, a Myrtle Beach PD
Officer saw the suspect as well and became involved in a
struggle with the suspect. Dooley tackled the suspect into
the police patrol car and assisted the officer in gaining
control of the suspect. The handgun used the night before
was recovered from the suspect. Dooley received a
Meritorious Service Commendation and associated uniform
ribbon.
Lt. Gary Buley: While on-duty and on
Highway 501, Buley found a car stopped on the roadway which
was catching on fire. He stopped and found a highly impaired
woman inside the car who would not exit. Lt. Buley, seeing
that she was unable to use good judgment and that the
vehicle fire was getting much worse, physically removed her
from the burning car. Moments after removing her, the car
was fully involved and had he not acted, the lady would have
lost her life. Buley received a Meritorious Service
Commendation and associated uniform ribbon.
Captain Phil Lawrence: While on-duty at a
client property, Lawrence was faced with two armed suspects
attempting to rob the establishment. Captain Lawrence
utilizing his high level of training and experience, drew
his weapon and ordered the men to stop. Being taken by
surprise by the presence of an armed officer and his quick
actions, the suspects fell to the ground and dropped their
weapons in an attempt to flee. Captain Lawrence successfully
thwarted the robbery attempt without injury occurring to
anyone. Lawrence received the Combat Cross for facing an
armed assailant while on-duty. He is also being presented
with a Meritorious Service Commendation.
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