A South Carolina police officer is being praised after aiding a woman who mouthed, “Help me,” during a routine traffic stop in Myrtle Beach on May 28.
The North Myrtle Beach police stated that officer Kayla Wallace was on patrol when she spotted a “white jeep disregard a red light at an intersection” at around 5:30 a.m.
Wallace approached the vehicle, finding a female driver and a male passenger.
“As she spoke with the vehicle’s occupants, she noticed the driver appeared distressed. While the male passenger wasn’t looking at the driver, the female silently mouthed ‘Help Me’ repeatedly,” the police department wrote.
Per CBS News, the officer wrote in the police report, “I gave loud orders for her to close the door.
“The passenger also opened his door and stated that the windows don’t roll down. The driver then told me that she felt like she was going to throw up.”
The driver reportedly “was under so much stress that she did not see that the stoplight was red,” according to the report.
The driver reportedly told Wallace the passenger had previously shot someone before the stop occurred, and she was forced to drive at gunpoint.
Moments later, a “BOLO” (be on the look out) notice was sent over the radio from dispatch regarding a vehicle that was just involved in a shooting in the county, the police department said.
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CBS stated dispatch also “described a Black male wearing blue jeans and blue and white Jordans, which matched the passenger’s description.”
The passenger, Collins Bates, 29, was then arrested and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, and unlawful carrying of pistol, among other charges, per the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
Bates allegedly shot someone in the stomach outside of a restaurant before allegedly kidnapping the woman, according to WMBF.
Officer Pat Wilkinson told CBS News a pistol was recovered from the vehicle.
Bates remains incarcerated as of Friday, as no bail has been set.
“Due to Officer Wallace proactively patrolling the streets of North Myrtle Beach, even to the last 30 minutes of her shift, a suspect in a shooting was arrested and an unlawfully carried pistol was recovered underneath the suspect’s seat,” police stated.
“Our department and our community is lucky to have Officer Wallace. Great Job!”
“[Officer Wallace] did not know anything about the shooting prior to her stop,” Wilkinson stated while speaking with CBS News.
“She was being a proactive police officer and simply observed a traffic violation 30 minutes before the end of her shift.”
