Suspect grabs officer’s gun, fires shot

PHUKET TOWN: A 20-year-old Phang Nga native was arrested on Monday after a fierce struggle with police, during which he grabbed an officer’s gun and fired a shot. Pol Capt Wisan Magnadsare of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he and Pol LCpl Supachai Pongsuwan were patrolling on their motorbike at around 3:30 am when their suspicions were aroused by two young men sitting in a sala on the bypass road near the entrance to the Tesco Lotus Superstore. The two men agreed to be searched, but while the search was underway, one of them, Nattapol Yuyen, 20, from Phang Nga, tried to run away. The police caught him, but he fought furiously to escape. During the fight, the suspect was able to grab Cpl Supachai’s automatic pistol. He fired off one round, which went astray, before being wrestled to the ground and forced to drop the weapon. Once again, Nattapol got up and tried to escape. Once again, he was tackled by both police officers, who held him down and handcuffed him. While this was happening, the other suspect fled. In Nattapol’s pockets the officers found 15 pills of ya bah. “I was surprised that someone in possession of just a few pills would fight with police officers like this,” Capt Wisan told the Gazette. Nattapol is being held without bail on charges of attempted murder, assault on a police officer and possession of narcotics.