NJ Cops October 2016 | Page 46

JOB WELL DONE

Off-duty but on the job

Bellmawr Officer Cummings takes down murder suspect in Atlantic City n BY ANNE FORLINE

Sept. 1 started off as a dreary and rainy day in Atlantic City. It wasn’ t the kind of weather that Sergeant Chris Cummings, his daughter, Alexandria, and his girlfriend, Christine were hoping for that morning because their afternoon plans called for attending the Zac Brown concert later on the beach.

Because the weather wasn’ t cooperating, Cummings, a 23-year veteran of the Bellmawr Police Department and past president of PBA Local 375, took Alexandria and Christine out to shop and grab something to eat before heading over to the concert. It was a little before noon when they arrived at the Tanger Outlets( The Walk).

The three were in White House Black Market for about 15 minutes and were about ready to leave when Cummings heard a commotion. He was standing back watching his daughter and girlfriend browsing,

Bellmawr Sergeant Chris Cummings receives a medal of valor and proclamation from the mayor’ s officer for his off-duty effort in subduing a man who had shot and killed a person in Atlantic City.

46

NEW JERSEY COPS n OCTOBER 2016

and he briefly glanced over when a man entered the store.“ He called out,‘ We ' re done’ or I ' m done’… It was something to the effect of‘ done,’” Cummings recalled. There was a female employee in the center of the store.“ I guessed that he was directing his anger toward her,” he continued.“ At first, I thought it was an argument so I turned to see where they were and to see what was going on.” Then, there was a gunshot.“ I saw the gun in his hand, but I didn’ t see the female,” Cummings further detailed.“ I didn’ t know where she disappeared to. This is the point when everything started to slow down.”

The man dropped to the floor, and the gun had fallen out of his hands. Cummings turned to look for his daughter, saw Christine grab her and they both ran into the back storage area. There were also a couple of other customers and employees in the store, and they too fled to the back.

But in the main area of the store, it was only Cummings and the gunman. Cummings went around a display to see if the gunman was still alive, unsure if he could be seen because the gunman was on the ground. He was lying on his back, moaning. Blood oozed out of the lower part of his chest. Behind the register, a store clerk was crouching down trying to call for help.

Cummings began to relay information to her, telling her a man had shot himself, that he was alive but an ambulance was needed. He focused for a few seconds on the clerk and stood next to the gunman, trying to keep a distance between him and the gun, which was only a couple of feet away.

Then, the man moved. He rolled onto his stomach, trying to lunge forward toward the gun. Unsure of his intentions, Cummings focused solely on the gun.“ I dropped to the ground and ended up on top of him,” Cummings described.“ He was still trying to get to the gun. His hand was inches from the handle, close to the trigger guard. I was trying to keep his