Michigan Deputy Shoots Suspect who Attacked with Knife and Screwdriver (video)

At about 6:47 a.m., a suspect identified as Sean Ernest Ruis was in a confrontation inside a Dimondale Quality Dairy store. Ruis was refused service for not wearing a mask.  He allegedly stabbed a 77 year old man while they were inside the store.  Then Ruis drove off.

At 7:13, a deputy with the Eaton County Sheriff's Office pulled Ruis over. The veteran female officer had 22 years of experience.

Ruis got out of the vehicle and moved toward the officer with weapons in his hands.


Link to video on instagram


The officer attempted to increase distance, but Ruis acclerated toward her, and she fired shots to stop the attack.  The officer continues to fire at Ruis as she attempts to increase the distance, and he attempts to make contact. Ruis uses a toe to heel advance technique, which is taught in some disciplines to close the distance quickly, without appearing to do so.

It was a very close thing. It appears Ruis and the officer made breif contact as she was firing at him.

 Screenshot from police body camera. Text and arrows, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

From the video, it appears Ruis has a screwdriver with about an 8 inch blade in his left hand and a knife or scissors with about a 4 inch blade in his right hand.

It seems likely contact between the officers gun and Ruis' hand caused a failure to feed in the deputy's sidearm.  The sidearm looks like a Glock 19. 

The impact of the bullets had an effect.

The officer cleared the malfunction and continued firing.

This is a classic example of the necessity of training in the Tueller Drill. Assailants with contact weapons can close the distance very rapidly. Even after being shot multiple times, attackers can have sufficient energy and will to close and make a deadly attack.

If, instead of a screwdriver in his left hand, the attacker had an edged weapon, the officer very likely would have been cut, and possibly lost control of the pistol.

Skilled knife users know to go after the weapon hand. It is the primary target to disable.

But bullets beat blades, if the gun weilder has the skill and time to use them. In this case the deputy made the right defensive moves. It was barely enough.

Ruis appears to have had some training, or to have studied knife techniques. Still, displaying a contact weapon and then attacking an opponent armed with a firearm,  smacks of desperation or, possibly suicide by deputy.

 This tragic situation could have been avoided if the suspect had been able to control himself a bit better. It is unknown if intoxicants were involved.

©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch