New mayor gives police officer an assist in apprehending fleeing man
NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
MAYOR JOHN ROYALTY
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, 5:30 p.m. (Updated 9 p.m. Jan. 14, 2015) — Attention bad guys: Not only does Nelson County have a new sheriff in town, but there’s also a new mayor — and you better not underestimate either one.
Bardstown Mayor John Royalty — a former Bardstown Police officer — assisted Bardstown Police Wednesday in apprehending a male subject who fled on foot while being questioned by police officer at Hurst Drug Store on Court Square.
According to a police department press release, Officer Nick Houck responded Wednesday afternoon at about 1:31 p.m. to a report of two suspicious individuals — a man and a woman — at Hurst Drug Store, 102 N. Third St. When Officer Houck approached the male — later indentirfied as Christopher Little, 26, of Bardstown — Houck believed the man was identifying himself using a false name.
When warned about falsely identifying himself to police, the man fled from the drug store on foot.
Royalty told the Gazette he was in his vehicle and saw the man take off running down an alley. He said he knew where the man was going to come out, so he stopped his vehicle and positioned himself to help the officer catch the man and take him down. Royalty assisted the officer as the man was handcuffed and arrested.
Little was arrested and lodged in the Nelson County Jail on one count of possession of a controlled substance, first-degree; resisting arrest; disorderly conduct; and giving an officer a false name and address. Little was also charged with an active warrant for a probation/parole violation. Once at the jail, Little required medical attention and he was transported to Flaget Memorial Hospital.
While he admitted that policing isn’t part of his new job description, Royalty said he saw an opportunity to help out, and from his years of training and experience, he instinctively knew what to do.
Royalty said that other than scraping his knuckles on the pavement he was not injured in the incident.
The woman who was with Little was questioned and released.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Bardstown Police Department, (502) 348-6811 or Nelson County Disatch, (502) 348-3211.
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