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Man Pulls Officer To Safety

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By JOSH POLTILOVE The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 6, 2008

TAMPA - He's a hero in the police chief's eyes for pulling a bleeding officer to safety seconds before her cruiser erupted in flames.

Archie Thomas says he did what he thought anybody else would do.

But they didn't.

And that's why Tampa Police Chief Stephen Hogue invited Thomas by his side Monday and said this about him to the public:

"I would definitely call him a hero," the chief said. "He stopped, rendered aid when, in fact, other people did not stop."

Thomas and his wife, Angela Cook, were on their way to his job making pallets about 6:30 a.m. when they saw a Jeep Cherokee stopped at a green light on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. They beeped their vehicle's horn, which startled the Jeep's driver, who took off and began swerving back and forth, Thomas said.

Thomas said he and his wife tried to flag down a deputy to stop the Jeep. But it ran a red light, crossed the center line of the four-lane road and crashed head-on into Officer Tara Edwards' police cruiser on King Boulevard near North 27th Street.

The green 1994 Jeep Cherokee that struck the officer's cruiser was driven by 39-year-old Marti Ottley of Tampa, police say. Ottley was charged with DUI with serious injury, driving with a suspended license with knowledge and careless driving, police say.

After the crash, Edwards could not get out of the cruiser.

Right Place, Right Time

Thomas, a 40-year-old father of three, rushed to help.

He said he was afraid to move Edwards because she was bleeding badly and he thought she might have a severe head wound. Her cruiser was smoking, though, and he was afraid of what might happen if he didn't act.

He unfastened her seat belt and carried her away.

"Thirty, 40 seconds later, it just exploded," Thomas said. "I knew if I reacted fast enough, I could get her out in time."

Angela Cook, a registered nurse, helped administer first aid to the injured officer.

"When he removed her, the vehicle was smoldering," Lt. Diane Hobley-Burney said. "Once he got her to safety on the sidewalk, it became engulfed in flames. ... If you could see the severity of this accident - the officer was probably pretty shaken - the citizen's assistance was essential in assuring her safety."

Thomas said the injured officer was incredibly calm, which helped him. "If she had panicked, I probably would've been like, 'Oh my God!'"

'Right Place,' 'Right Time'

Thomas was on house arrest when he helped Edwards on Monday, jail records show.

He had been convicted of driving with a canceled, suspended or revoked license, but he wasn't behind the wheel Monday, Tampa police say.

Despite this, Thomas said didn't hesitate to help a police officer.

"A person's life is more important to me than anything," he said. "It don't matter if it was a police officer, a cat or a dog. I'm glad I was there at the right place and the right time."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Shane Burton, who helps run the house arrest program, said Thomas' house arrest began Jan. 16 and is slated to end June 24.

Thomas has been convicted on several charges previously, including forgery, cocaine possession and carrying a concealed firearm, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said. Those offenses happened in the 1980s, Thomas said, adding that he has changed his life.

"It was just stupid things," he said.

Ottley, the woman who struck Edwards' cruiser, also has been arrested before, police say.

In 1997, Ottley pleaded guilty to DUI and was sentenced the next year to 12 months' probation, state attorney's spokeswoman Pam Bondi said. In 2007, she was arrested on a DUI charge but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving. In that case, Ottley acknowledged taking Vicodin prior to the crash, but deputies were unable to obtain a urine sample, Bondi said. Ottley had a 0.0 blood alcohol content, according to Bondi.
Ottley and Edwards, an 18-year veteran, were taken to Tampa General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after Monday's crash. Ottley might have a dislocated shoulder, Hobley-Burney said.

Edwards has a compound fracture in one wrist, a broken nose, broken leg and hairline fracture of the kneecap, police said.

"Officer Edwards is in good spirits and her family is with her at the hospital," a news release stated.

Rescuer To Receive Award

Hogue said that at an upcoming ceremony, Thomas will be presented with an award.

Thomas, who builds and repairs pallets at a business on King Boulevard near Interstate 4, said he went to work after the crash, but his boss sent him home.

The boss, Benedict Flahn, said he isn't surprised Thomas would do something heroic.

Thomas told his boss he was able to work Monday, but Flahn said no.

"Archie deserved a day off, man," Flahn said.

TBO.com producers Beth Gaddis and Daniela Velzquez, Tribune photographer Jay Conner and News Channel 8 reporter Josh Thomas contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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