LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. — Officials are praising the work of a Moscow Mills officer who they say was "brutally beaten" while fighting off a man who took an 11-year-old child hostage and used her as a "human shield."
Court documents detailed the harrowing incident, which happened late Thursday night on Darla Court.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Jeffrey Michael Price with several felonies, including first-degree kidnapping and assault.
According to court documents, Moscow Mills Officer Sarah Miller responded to a home after Price’s mother called police and said her son, who had just been released from prison less than a week prior, “wasn’t acting right.” Miller had responded to the area an hour earlier when another caller said Price was banging on their door because he thought it was his ex-wife’s home and he thought she was inside. That caller did not know who Price was.
Miller arrived for the second time and found Price standing on the steps of a neighboring home on Darla Court. She yelled for him but he ran inside the home. Miller yelled for him to come out and then entered the home, at which point she saw Price grab an 11-year-old girl by the neck.
"He then "placed his right hand up against the victim’s neck, mimicking that he had a gun or other weapon,” the probable cause statement said.
Court documents stated that Price then advanced toward Miller while holding the child and ordered her to shut the door.
"We were able to review the body cam footage from the officer and some photographs that were taken from that video and there was just horror on the face of the child," Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood said.
Price then struck Miller but she was able to free the girl and told her to run. She then placed herself between Price and the little girl, allowing her to escape.
A probable cause statement detailed the struggle Miller had with the man before backup arrived.
“Price then began to savagely beat Officer Miller in the head with closed fists," the document said.
“Officer Miller stumbled backwards. Price shut the front door and locked it and tried to push Officer Miller back down, while telling her to 'stay here'. Price then began to beat Officer Miller in the head a second time. Officer Miller yelled for Price to stop and to get back while she fought back. Price temporarily stopped his onslaught and blocked the door with his large body frame, keeping Officer Miller confined in the residence and keeping any potential responding officers from entering."
“Price was out of breath, and Officer Miller told him to turn around and put his hands behind his back. Officer Miller tried reassuring Price that she did not want to hurt him. Price stated, ‘I'm an assassin.’ Officer Miller kept trying to de-escalate the situation by reassuring Price and attempting to gain his compliance. Price then stated, ‘I got your gun’ and proceeded to attack Officer Miller a third time.”
Two Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputies then forced their way into the home and another struggle ensued. Price was taken to the ground and arrested while continuing to resist and kick at officers. He was eventually handcuffed after deputies deployed a stun gun.
Miller was taken to a hospital with headaches and severe head swelling, documents said. A deputy suffered broken fingers.
" ... I want to say to Officer Miller that she did an outstanding job and showed a tremendous amount of courage and bravery to do everything that she possibly could and put her own life on the line, potentially, in order to save this child and to make sure that she had made it to safety," Wood said.
In all, Price was charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree assault involving serious injury or a special victim, and one count each of first-degree burglary, possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest for a felony.
He was being held on a $1 million bond.