BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A Birmingham police officer was injured, and a suspect was killed in a shooting this morning at a restaurant in the city’s northside.
The ordeal began at about 8:20 a.m. when the officer went to get something to eat at Ruth’s Cafe at 4012 24th Street North. When the officer arrived, they were asked by employees to make a customer who refused to pay leave the property. Workers told police the suspect refused to pay for his meal at the restaurant. and asked the officer to have the suspect, who remained in his vehicle outside the cafe, to leave.
As the officer approached the customer’s vehicle, the customer immediately opened fire, Chief Patrick Smith said. Officers returned fire and issued a plea over the police radio for all possible assistance.
Both the officer and the suspect were rushed to UAB Hospital’s Trauma Center. Police blocked off roads as they escorted the officer to UAB Hospital.
Police Friday afternoon identified the wounded officer a Det. Mikiel Smith, 47. He has been on the force for 19 years and is assigned to the Investigation Bureau. He underwent surgery and is recovering.
Smith was shot once or twice in the right arm or right hand, the chief said, and is in good condition. The suspect, shot in the head, was pronounced dead at the hospital. His name has not been released.
The suspect, according to sources and court records, is a 26-year-old Birmingham man who previously pleaded guilty in a murder that happened when he was a teen. Initially charged with capital murder, he pleaded guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with just three years to serve.
Two years after that deadly shooting, he was again arrested on charges of attempted murder and robbery. Those charges were dismissed as part of his plea agreement in the murder case.
Authorities said the suspect was armed with a stolen gun. Six law enforcement officers were shot to death in Alabama in 2019and all but one killed with a stolen gun.
The State Bureau of Investigation is leading the probe which is policy for officer-involved shootings.
Friday’s shooting is the sixth time in 15 months that a Birmingham police officer has been injured and the third time already this year. In March, West Precinct Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Wheeler and another West Precinct Sgt. Stopped a vehicle in connection with an investigation into ongoing vehicle thefts in the western area of the city. Both Wheeler and the suspect were wounded but survived.
In January, narcotics Det. John Finke was shot while he was working security at Church of the Highlands in Woodlawn was shot Sunday morning when he confronted two robbery suspects. A 16-year-old is the accused shooter.
The officer was hit twice in the abdomen and is also recovering.
"These are challenging times," said Birmingham City Council President William Parker. "Our law enforcement and essential businesses are going above and beyond the call to serve the citizens of Birmingham throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This is not the time or place for senseless acts of violence. We are wishing the officer a speedy recovery."
“We stand behind all of the men and women of the Birmingham Police Department,” said Public Safety Chair Hunter Williams. “This exemplifies the dangers that they face every single day, serving the citizens of Birmingham. This is a time when we need for our community to rally around the police and all of those who continue to work and put their lives on the line during the extraordinary times of COVID-19.”
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