Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe, and their jobs can be incredibly dangerous. Police officers have to always be ready to defend themselves against violent people, which is why sometimes, the officers themselves get hurt.

Sgt. Randy Harkness of Dawson County, Georgia was recently taken completely off guard when he met a homeless man at a gas station. Trying to be a Good Samaritan, Harkness offered to give the man some money. Suddenly, the homeless man became violent and started hitting the 52 year-old police officer in the face.

The attack was so sudden that Harkness did not have time to defend himself. The suspect continued to pummel the defenseless officer in the face when a female bystander decided to take action. Seeing what was happening, the woman leaped out of her car and pulled out the gun that she was legally carrying. Staying calm, she took a shot…

As soon as the gunshot rang out, the homeless man got scared and ran for his life. The woman was able to hit the man with her next shot, injuring him so that police could apprehend and arrest him. Now, the woman is being hailed as a hero by her community.

“I truly believe that she’s a hero,” said Sheriff Jeff Johnson. “I believe that she potentially saved this officer’s life. We don’t know how far the suspect would have went with the assault.”

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