Office Jesse Kidder may be a rookie cop but having done two tours of Iraq and being awarded a Purple Heart likely contributed to his putting a premium on human life and being discerning when it comes to pulling the trigger.

Kidder has been challenged recently by a 27-year-old crime suspect, Michael Wilcox, to either shoot him or get shot. However, Kidder did not fall for the easier way out to shoot the suspect immediately, which appears to be a disturbing trend in different police departments across the U.S.

Like Us on Facebook

Wilcox was suspected of killing two people - his fiancée, Courtney Fowler, at their Brown County, Ohio, residence and then his best friend in Elsmere, Cincinnati. An investigator from Brown County saw Wilcox on Thursday night and tried to stop him, but Wilcox sped away, leading to a chase through several counties in the boundaries of Ohio and Kentucky.

The investigator sought help from the police, which deployed the veteran soldier to the situation.

Responding to Wilcox's dare, Kidder is heard saying in a video from his body camera, "No, man, I'm not going to do it," Mirror quotes the rookie cop.

He maintained that conviction to shoot only when really necessary even if he tripped and fell while walking backward.

Explaining his stand, Kidder said, "Law enforcement officers all across the nation have to deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death. I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force."

Such an outlook contrasts with how other police officers, such as the one involved in the Ferguson shooting or the Oklahoma reserve deputy who mistakenly pulled his gun instead of his Taser on a suspect, who are now in hot water after they shot the suspect right away.

Kidder said rather than shoot immediately, he tried opening a dialogue with Wilcox. But he admits he was closed to using deadly force when he fell and the suspect was pointing a gun at his face. But Wilcox fell to the ground a few feet away from Kidder, ending the tense situation, reports the American Register.

For Kidder's judgement call that exhibits great restraint and maturity, his boss, Randy Harvey, said the video footage removed all doubt that had Kidder shot the suspect, he would have been justified in pursuing such an action.

The value of having video to back up cops' shoot or not decision made Harvey, police chief of New Richmond, decide to attempt to get more funds for the rest of his officers to have body cameras.

TagsOhio, police, bodycam, Jesse Kidder, deadly force