Crime

Off-Duty NY Cop Shoots Salon Robber While Getting Her Hair Done

NEW YORK (AP) — Feris Jones’ make-my-day moment came Saturday evening at a Brooklyn beauty salon.

The New York Police Department officer was off duty and getting her hair done when an armed bandit came in and announced a holdup. Police say she coolly drew her own pistol and exchanged fire.

The result was cinematic: Jones managed to both shoot the suspect’s gun out of his hand and the handle off the front door, briefly blocking his escape.

After following a trail of blood, police arrested the alleged robber shortly after midnight Monday at a flophouse. He remained hospitalized with hand injuries as word of the officer’s exploits spread, drawing praise from superiors and comparisons to former NYPD officer Arlene Beckles, who became an instant folk hero in 1994 by outdueling three armed bandits in a hair salon shootout.

Officer Jones’ “reserve under fire was only matched by her marksmanship,” Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Monday through a spokesman.

It was unclear whether Jones’ marksmanship was intentional, police said. The NYPD trains officers to aim at “center mass” when using deadly force.

Jones, 50, a Barbados native and divorced mother of an adult child, had never fired a gun in the line of duty during her two-decade police career. Officials described her as a respected member of the force, most recently assigned to the crime lab.

The botched robbery began around 6:30 p.m. Saturday after employees buzzed a nervous-acting woman into Sabine’s Hallway Beauty Salon, a narrow shop with three styling chairs. She asked a few questions about services and left the door ajar — on purpose, police now suspect.

The alleged gunman, Winston Cox, burst in moments later with a .44-caliber revolver raised.

“This ain’t no joke!” witnesses recalled him shouting. “This is a robbery! I will kill you!”

The 19-year-old Cox ordered the four women in the salon — Jones, another patron, the owner and an employee — to put their valuables in a black bag he was carrying as he herded them into a back bathroom, police said. When he went to retrieve the owner’s handbag on a counter in the middle of the salon, Jones pulled out her off-duty five-shot revolver, held it at her side and told the other women, “Everyone get down.”

Police said Jones faced off with Cox at a distance of about 12 feet and identified herself as a police officer. They say Cox responded by opening fire. The officer shot back.

His four shots missed. Her five rounds disarmed him and disabled the door.

Cox picked up his pistol and tried to flee but found himself trapped, police said. He was forced to kick out a window and crawl out to the sidewalk.

Responding to a 911 call from Jones giving a description of the suspect, police launched a manhunt using bloodhounds. It led them to his mothers’ nearby home, where they found a bag holding stolen wallets and his blood-spattered gun, police said.

Several hours later, investigators tracked him down at the hotel. He answered the door of his room with his right hand wrapped in a makeshift bandage of paper towels.

Asked whether he was injured, police said, he responded: “She shot me in the hand.”

Comments (48)

1 2
  • Wartface
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 4:01pm

    Tip of the hat to the fine female officer! She was cooler than cool hand luke. However…. If she had followed her officer training and aimed for critical mass and killed the worthless loser, she would have saved the tax payers at least a Million dollars. But good job!

    Report Post »  
  • 1776Federalist
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 3:15pm

    I group my 44 mag shots in a fist sized area at 25 feet. Concealed carry really would help out the nations crime rates. The punk probably was holding his gun gangsta style and never did any target practice. Practice doesn’t always mean perfect, but perfect practice over time makes one practically perfect. I applaud her keeping her cool and not panicking. that is why she was able to hit him, when her adrenaline had to be sky high. Don‘t you be messin’ with a lady gettin’ her hair done, son. You would be safer getting frisky with a mama grizzly!

    Report Post »  
  • JohnnyJT
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 2:38pm

    Good shooting!

    Report Post » South Philly Boy  
    • MCGIRV
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 2:55pm

      Amen!

      Report Post » MCGIRV  
    • donjuan
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 3:50pm

      Better to be lucky than to be good. Lets see – she shot all 5 shots and somewhere in the gun fire hit his gun hand, (and the door knob? Where did the other 3 rounds end up?). If she missed that one in a thousand “hand shot” – she is out of bullets and he has a loaded gun! What are her odds then? – An empty gun is just a over priced hammer you know! 2 shots to center body mass another to the head if he doesn’t stop, is what she is trained to shoot and expected to shoot. She got lucky and I’m glad that she got to go home that day. Hopefully she was almost done with the hair cut.

      Report Post »  
  • kazzbooA1
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 12:50pm

    IF he tried that with my wife interrupting her hair cut he would have 2 less ****** and a wounded hand.

    Report Post »  
  • pilot334
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 12:02pm

    Remember, she was an armed law abiding citizen at the time. She happened to be a police officer. She could have been a truck driver, stock broker, sales person, etc. This story demonstrates that when seconds count to defend yourself and police are minutes away, individuals trained and armed can deter crime.

    Report Post »  
  • Skwerl E. Muckenfutch
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 11:02am

    Just goes to show you…don’t mess with a woman getting her hair done- ever.

    Report Post »  
  • murphytavern
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 10:33am

    wonder if she has ever shot competively i love this story GOOD SHOOTING

    Report Post »  
  • thefiremanjoe
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 7:53am

    Nice work!! Sucks to be the robber!!! Especially when the other cons find out what happened to him, and they hear that he got shot by a girl!!!!!

    Report Post » thefiremanjoe  
  • Eraty Bab
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 6:52am

    Good for her!! I’d feel for him, but I just can’t reach that far. :)

    Report Post » Eraty Bab  
  • Jimmers46
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 6:11am

    I wonder if he a gun permit?? Lmao!

    Report Post »  
  • TommyJH54
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 6:00am

    Give the cop a raise! Way to go! That is law enforcement at its finest!

    Report Post » TommyJH54  
  • QuietRiot
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 4:08am

    you go girl!!

    Report Post »  
  • Huff-a-Ton Post
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 1:44am

    Wait a second. How did that kid get a hand gun? Isn’t that illegal?

    Report Post » Huff-a-Ton Post  
  • HEARDENOUGHCRAP
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 1:43am

    I’m not sure about the video. It certainly was unfortunate that the deli owner was killed, and my heart and prayers go out to his family, but I don’t know how it is related to this story at the salon.

    Report Post »  
  • HEARDENOUGHCRAP
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 1:40am

    I agree that this was a classic story of good conquers evil. Ms Jones deserves a medal, and a great deal of respect for her courage, and expertise. Cox….get a job……..Oh, excuse me! I forgot we were in Obamaland, where only people who don’t want to work can get a job, and if you are one of the right colors, you can just suck the taxpayers dry.

    Report Post »  
  • Beetle1971
    Posted on October 26, 2010 at 1:30am

    It’s the little things in life.

    Report Post »  
  • katie
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 10:11pm

    Score one for the GOOD Guys!!!!!!

    Report Post » katie  
  • craig4949
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 9:18pm

    She just might get sued for shooting him in the hand. Such cruel and unusual punishment! Actually, she is very lucky. 12 feet and 4 missed shots. She is great cool under fire! His 44 Mag had to have sounded like a cannon going off 4 times. Once again life proves, the crime does not pay. I hope she gets a medal.

    Report Post »  
  • Raven249
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:43pm

    lol “She shot me in the hand.” Kid, be glad she didn’t shoot you between your eyeballs. Pretty funny.

    Report Post »  
  • cop4hire
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:17pm

    Apparently this punk was feeling lucky……..He was wrong. I wonder if her off duty 5 shot was a .44?
    Maybe not because if it was I’m sure it would have blown his hand clean off.

    Report Post » cop4hire  
  • stopprintn
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:15pm

    She shot me in the hand……….well cry me a river. Good job officer Jones.

    Report Post »  
  • Masamune
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:08pm

    “She shot me in the hand.” What do you think will happen when you try to rob a cop kid?

    Report Post »  
    • JGP
      Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:37pm

      Next time it could be the head. Just saying.

      Report Post »  
    • Beckofile
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 3:42pm

      “She missed me and got the hand I use for the remote and my WII” “What will I do in prison if I can’t switch the channel or pleasure myself“ ”I will sue for cruel treatment”….Welcome to the new USA.

      Report Post » Beckofile  
    • JGP
      Posted on October 28, 2010 at 7:34pm

      Prison? Probably not, that’s a potential democrat voter.

      Report Post »  
  • teahugger
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:02pm

    Good for her! Highly unlikely that his hand and the door were her intended targets, but who cares? She protected everyone and his shots missed entirely. We law biding citizens should ALL carry guns…the bad guys would think twice.

    Report Post » teahugger  
    • snowleopard3200
      Posted on October 25, 2010 at 8:16pm

      Several of us in AZ do with the concealed gun permits, cuts down on problems of repeat offenders.

      Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • teahugger
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 8:57pm

      snowleopard: Good for you! Me too. As an aside, I really appreciate all your posts. Very insightful. Thanks

      Report Post » teahugger  
  • joseph Fawcett
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:02pm

    This is a great story, that police officer deserves the praise and I am sure she is a good aim.

    http://www.josephfawcettart.com western artist

    joseph Fawcett  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:52pm

      I second your comment. If it wasn’t an intentional shot it got the job done and only the “bad guy” paid the price. We are a fortunate country to have brave men and women protecting us within and outside our borders. God bless.

      Report Post »  
    • snowleopard3200
      Posted on October 25, 2010 at 8:15pm

      Good thing for good cops, and dead shots as well. If she shot that way on accident I could imagine how good she shoots normally and would not want to compete against her.

      http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm (mix art)

      Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • canuck44
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 6:30am

      If her aim was that good we would not be talking about paying for his medical car, incarceration, lawyer, “rehab’, probation, court costs, etc. All to give a recidivism rate of 90%. We might better be contributing to a single funeral and an autopsy for legal purposes…end of story. The owner would not be paying for a doorknob and a window. Five in the chest beats one in the hand and one in the doorknob.

      Report Post »  
    • Thomas Payne
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 8:47am

      “i’m sure she is a good aim” huh?

      Report Post » Thomas Payne  
    • Beckofile
      Posted on October 26, 2010 at 3:39pm

      Cannuck
      I think it is, “One in the hand is worth more then two in the bush”. The officer sounds like trick shooter. I do commend her for her bravery but the story is a little like two folks having a hard time shooting fish in a barrel.

      Report Post » Beckofile  
    • KEA
      Posted on October 27, 2010 at 8:36pm

      IF she was a good aim this punk would be in the ground, where he deserves to be! Zero tolerance for ANYONE touting they are going to kill you. Put them down for good!

      Im glad no one else got hurt and I know each case has special circumstances but I can tell you this punk would have NEVER got off the first round with me.

      Conceal carry solves LOTS of problems!

      Report Post »  
  • We Are Not Alone
    Posted on October 25, 2010 at 7:00pm

    TAKE TIME FOR A GOOD LAUGH:

    “Call Me Senator”: Zucker Apologizes For Supporting Dem. Senator Barbara Boxer

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFLYH6CTyBM

    Want our country back  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love