Law enforcement officers are sworn to serve and protect the public but every once in a while those tables get turned and, by some strange twist of fate, the opposite happens.

Sherry King

On Monday July 2, Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster presented a Lifesaving Award to Sherry King, a 70 year old Littlefield, Arizona, resident. King is being credited with saving the life of a Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Deputy on April 27.

King was outside of her “Little Dam Car Lot” watering the bushes when a car pulled up behind the SUV that was parked in front of the building, followed by a Sheriff’s vehicle.

King hasn’t lived as long as she has by not knowing when to keep her nose out of business that wasn’t hers or her eyes wide open, and they were. King kept watering her bushes and stayed out the way but her attention was on what was happening with the sheriff.

She observed the sheriff trying to arrest the man and the man throwing his hands in the air while stating, “I’m not going to jail” repeatedly.

At that point, King moved closer to the scene, still keeping a safe distance, and her attention was completely focused on what was happening.

While the suspect was being restrained, a struggle ensued with the deputy. During the struggle, the suspect was able to take possession of the deputy’s taser, but was not able to deploy it.

It was when the suspect then began reaching for the deputy’s weapon that King jumped in and attempted to assist the deputy. King jumped on the suspect’s back but was shoved away. King fired a warning shot from her own weapon; the suspect took heed of that shot and fled the scene on foot.

After the award was presented, King received a standing ovation from all in attendance. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office expressed their gratitude to King for her quick thinking and courageous actions, which ultimately saved the life of a young deputy.