Deputy Saves Man Who Sought Suicide by Cop at Traffic Stop

Florida, USA – A deputy officer, on Jan 8, 2021, tased and arrested a man who held a gun in his hand and asked the officer to kill him.

Marion County’s Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Eli Serrano managed a traffic stop on a 1988 blue Ford Bronco for breaking a signal. Allen Buford, the driver was later pulled over and handed the officer an ID card which said that he lost his driver’s license.

“You should have seen the red light while taking the right turn,” said Serrano. To this, the driver replied that he was tired as it was a long day at work and hence missed the stop signal.

While the officer went back to check the validity of the license, Buford fled from the stop.

After a short pursuit, Buford pulled over, and exited the vehicle with a gun in his hand, urging the deputy to kill him.

“I am already dead, so why don’t you pull the trigger already,” said Buford. “I am trying to go to work for my family, I am doing nothing wrong.”

However, Serrano was able to convince him to put the gun down. As seen in the video, after the suspect throws away the gun and walks away, the deputy runs behind and tases him, forcing him to drop to the ground and allowing a safe arrest.

Buford was transported to the Marion County Jail for fleeing, display of a firearm during a felony, driving while license cancelled suspended or revoked, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Earlier, he was out on bond in 2019 on charges of  Capital Sex Battery, one count of Lewd or Lascivious Battery, and one count of Lewd or Lascivious Molestation and Violation of Probation.

Suicide is a major national public health issue in the United States.

Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of over 48,000 people,” according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WISQARS Leading Cause of Death Reports in 2018. “Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54.”

The reports also reveal that there were more than two and a half times as many suicides (48,344) in the United States as there were homicides (18,830).

According to National Center for Health Statistics, the total suicide rate in the United States increased 35 percent from 10.5 per 100,000 in 1999 to 14.2 per 100,000 in 2018. The rate among males was 3.7 times higher (22.8 per 100,000) than among females (6.2 per 100,000).

“For males, the rate increased 28 percent from 17.8 in 1999 to 22.8 in 2018. After a stable trend from 1999 to 2006, the rate increased on average by about 1.6 percent per year from 2006 to 2016 and by 3.2 percent per year from 2016 through 2018,” the study reported. “For females, the rate increased 55 percent, from 4.0 in 1999 to 6.2 in 2018. The rate increased on average by about 1.9 percent per year from 1999 to 2007 and by 3.3 percent per year from 2007 to 2015, then did not change significantly from 2015 through 2018.”

(Edited by Saptak Datta and Gaurab Dasgupta.)