Kansas City church security guard helps police catch suspect
KANSAS CITY, MO January 9 2019 A robbery and carjacking led to police firing shots right outside a church, but thanks to a volunteer security guard, the suspect is in custody and everyone else is safe.
“You know what I did is what any other Christian gentleman would do for any other, this is what we’re supposed to do this isn’t anything special,” explained Douglas Otto, Head of Security at Midtown Baptist Temple.
Sunday, Otto was training a new volunteer and saw something that didn’t seem right with one of the church’s members.
“He came out and blocked her and that concerned me so I started my pace a lot faster. I started to jog down there and then he came over and he talked to her he looked in the back of her car then looked up at me,” said Otto.
It happened near 40th and Walnut.
The man took off when he didn’t get the woman’s car.
Otto called 911 then went after him.
As this was happening, he tried to rob another church member in the parking lot.
Police arrested James Bullock a couple blocks away at 39th and Baltimore after a struggle.
They say he tried to grab an officer’s gun, that’s when another officer shot him.
Bullock will be okay, and the officers weren’t hurt.
Otto has volunteered for the church’s security team for a few years now and Pastor Sam Miles couldn’t be happier with the way he responded.
“I’m super proud of Doug and really the whole team they do a great job,” said Sam Miles, Senior Pastor at Midtown Baptist Temple.
They don’t take security lightly at Midtown Baptist Temple.
They train with outside companies and try to make sure they have an eye on everything happening in and around the church.
Miles says god doesn’t promote a lifestyle of fear.
He doesn’t want this to stop people from coming to the church to worship.
“The reality is everybody has to wrestle with bad days there are storms you know those are realities of life and the God that we serve is more than able to take us through anything and so we’ve had similar,” said Miles.
Miles says police asked him not to talk about what happened with church members during the service on Sunday.
He says they’ll go over safety and security procedures with members during service Tuesday.
KCTV
