#8 - Mathew Ward
An off-duty Tennessee police officer was involved in a road rage incident on June the 13th of
2021. The episode began on Interstate 24 in Rutherford County, when 31-year-old Mathew
Ward allegedly witnessed another motorist speeding. Despite being off-duty at the time,
Ward pursued the vehicle and produced his Decherd Police badge, motioning for the driver to slow
down. According to Patrol Captain William Travis of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office, the
two “exchanged words”, and Ward then followed the man onto Medical Center Parkway at Silohill Lane,
reaching speeds of up to 120 miles per hour in the process. After exiting the Interstate,
the two men got out of their vehicles. In the ensuing confrontation, Ward reportedly pulled out
his police-issued handgun and pointed it at the other motorist, identified as Ilya Kovalchuk. The
off-duty officer was heard telling Kovalchuk that he’s on-duty “24/7”, before ordering him to get on
the ground. A group of onlookers, who recorded the altercation with their cell phones, subsequently
called 911. Patrol Captain Travis was called to the scene, whereupon he placed Ward under arrest
for aggravated assault. He was booked at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center before
being released on a $5,000 bond. In the immediate wake of the road rage incident, Ward was suspended
from the Decherd Police Department without pay. However, the man, who’d only been a police officer
for a few months before his arrest, ultimately resigned from his post a couple days later.
#7 - Ceddria McWilliams
On the morning of October the 9th of 2020, the police in Montgomery, Alabama were called to the
100 block of East Salem Drive for a report of domestic violence. Upon their arrival,
law enforcement learned that the individual accused of violence was off-duty Montgomery
officer Ceddria McWilliams, aged 24. According to official documents on the incident,
McWilliams had gotten into her boyfriend’s car and rammed it into her own Jeep Patriot,
while the couple’s 10-month old child was inside. The collision caused considerable
damage to the bumper, hood, and headlights of the man’s vehicle. Following the crash,
McWilliams reportedly got out of the car and struck the victim with
a baseball bat. He grabbed the off-duty officer’s arm to keep her from swinging,
at which point she sank her teeth into the left side of his chest. McWilliams subsequently got
back into her boyfriend’s vehicle, collided with the Jeep for a second time, then fled the scene.
She was taken into custody that afternoon on charges of domestic violence, criminal mischief,
assault, and reckless endangerment. In the aftermath of her arrest, McWilliams was relieved
of duty and placed on administrative leave pending further investigations.
#6 - Adrian Scott Aurs
The police in Cincinnati, Ohio were notified of what was described as an “active shooter
situation” in the early morning hours of July the 30th of 2016. The incident had begun more than 100
miles northwest in Indianapolis, where local police were called to the scene of a domestic
violence complaint. Upon their arrival, law enforcement learned that an unidentified woman had
allegedly been harmed by her estranged husband, 42-year-old Adrian Scott Aurs. The latter,
an 18-year veteran of the Indianapolis Police force, had left the scene before officers arrived,
but returned a short time later and opened fire on his colleagues. The police returned fire,
but Aurs subsequently fled the scene and made his way to Cincinnati. During the drive over,
the off-duty officer made a number of phone calls, including one to his mother,
in which he threatened to end his own life. Shortly after midnight, Aurs was located on
the Brent Spence bridge with a Glock Model 27 in his car. Traffic on the bridge was stopped
for more than an hour while the Cincinnati Police SWAT team was locked in a standoff
with the suspect. Aurs was ultimately taken into custody on a charge of attempted murder
in connection to the non-fatal shooting of an Indianapolis detective. In March of 2018, a few
months after his employment with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was terminated,
Aurs was sentenced to 12 years in prison, followed by one year in community corrections.
#5 - Pierre Tyler
29-year-old mother of two Andris Wofford was found dead inside her Chicago apartment on the morning
of December the 6th of 2021, after police were asked to perform a welfare check on her. Upon
reviewing surveillance footage, investigators learned that, at about 9 pm the previous night,
Wofford’s boyfriend, Pierre Tyler, had exited her apartment with a firearm holstered on his back.
The man, a 5-year veteran of the Chicago police force, provided his colleagues with an alibi,
claiming to have been leaving Wofford’s apartment to meet with a confidential informant. However,
Tyler’s partners indicated that it would be highly unusual and against police protocol to
meet with an informant alone and in one’s personal vehicle. When interviewing the victim’s neighbors,
detectives learned that the couple had gotten into a loud argument that night that culminated
with a “loud, muffled bang”, after which the yelling ceased. It was also determined
that the shell casings found at the crime scene matched those found in the officer’s gun-range
bag. Tyler was thus taken into custody on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend. It
subsequently emerged that Wofford had confronted the off-duty officer about claims that he’d had
a child with another woman, which led to the altercation that ultimately turned deadly.
The man was denied bail while being held in Cook County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.
#4 - Eric Welch
In 2022, officers from the Arlington County Police Department in Virginia opened up a narcotics
investigation after learning that an individual was selling cocaine in the area. Detectives
ultimately identified 33-year-old Eric Welch, a Pentagon Force Protection Agency police officer,
as a suspect in the case. Welch was subsequently observed purchasing narcotics for the purpose
of distribution, and was thus taken into custody in the 1300 block of South Scott
Street on October the 28th. For the illicit drug operation he was running while off-duty,
the federal officer faced charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance
and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance while armed. Authorities
obtained a search warrant for Welch’s home, inside of which they recovered more narcotics,
as well as guns. He was booked into the Arlington County Detention Center and held without bond.
#3 - Stephanie Carabajal
In the late evening hours of October the 29th of 2019, central dispatch operators received a call
about a blue pickup truck blocking an intersection in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The driver of the
vehicle, a young female, was reportedly asleep at the wheel. The woman eventually woke up, at which
point she got onto the eastbound lanes of Highway 70 and began driving erratically while traveling
at about 10 miles per hour in the right hand lane. New Mexico State Police Officer Gustavo Avina
was called to assist Las Cruces Police officer Kevin Martinez with the ensuing traffic stop,
which was conducted after the female motorist fell asleep once again near the highway’s Mesa Grande
exit. Officer Martinez noted that the engine was still running when he approached the vehicle,
which smelled strongly of alcohol. He reportedly recognized the driver as Stephanie Carabajal,
a fellow Las Cruces police officer. When the 26-year-old woman woke up again, she was slurring
her speech, her eyes were bloodshot and watery, and she too emitted a strong odor of alcohol. She
allegedly told the officers that she was parked on the road because the driver of the vehicle
had gotten out and left, but she couldn’t remember who it was. Carabajal refused a breathalyzer test
before being taken to Doña Ana County Detention Center on a charge of aggravated DUI. She was
subsequently placed on administrative leave before eventually being terminated from the force. In May
of 2021, nearly 600 days after her arrest, it was reported that the charges levied against
Carabajal had been dismissed by a judge, who cited violations of her right to a speedy trial.
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#2 - Michael Vitellaro
An off-duty police officer was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct
following an incident that occurred outside a Starbucks in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge
on July the 1st of 2022. Subsequent reports on the matter revealed that a 14-year-old boy by
the name of Josh Nieves had been attempting to move a bicycle left on the sidewalk out of his
path when he and his friends were approached by Chicago policeman Michael Vitellaro,
who wasn’t on duty at the time. As captured on cell phone video by nearby witnesses,
49-year-old Vitellaro grabbed Nieves and threw him to the ground before digging his knee into
the young teen’s back to keep him restrained. As Nieves’ friends looked on in horror, the officer
told them that the boy had been trying to steal his son’s bike. The teens denied the accusation,
indicating that he’d simply been moving it out of his way. Four Park Ridge officers were dispatched
to the scene after receiving reports of a fight-in-progress, but no arrests were made.
When video footage of the incident surfaced on social media, the Chicago Police Department opened
up an internal investigation into the off-duty officer’s actions. Vitellaro turned himself in
after criminal charges were filed against him. As of the case’s latest developments,
the man had been relieved of his police powers. He entered a not guilty plea to his charges,
while Nieves’ family publicly announced their intentions to file a lawsuit.
#1 - David Hall Dixon
At about 5 am on April the 7th of 2021, the police in Takoma Park, Maryland were dispatched to the
scene of a reported shooting at Takoma Overlook Condominiums on New Hampshire Avenue. Responding
officers encountered a man by the name of David Hall Dixon, an off-duty Pentagon Force Protection
Agency officer who claimed to have witnessed an attempted carjacking. Dixon indicated that
he’d “engaged” the suspects, two of whom were subsequently taken to Prince George’s Hospital
Center with gunshot wounds. 32-year-old Dominique Williams and 38-year-old James Lionel Johnson
later succumbed to the injuries inflicted by the off-duty officer. 36-year-old Michael Thomas,
the driver of the vehicle that Dixon claimed was being stolen, survived the shooting, but wasn’t
ultimately charged with any crime. Surveillance video recovered from the scene showed Dixon firing
multiple rounds into the car as it was driving away. He faced several charges, including two
counts of second-degree murder, two counts of use of a handgun, and reckless endangerment. Dixon
was placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation into the matter.
Following a COVID-19-related delay, his criminal trial was scheduled to begin in February of 2023.
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