Cop who saved woman during 95 shooting speaks out
By: Chloe Leshner
cleshner@abc6.com
@cleshnerabc6
PROVIDENCE (WLNE) — Several innocent people were put in danger during the officer involved shooting last week, not only by the driver of the pick up truck, but also police bullets flying by. A Providence police officer is being hailed a hero for saving a woman literally stuck in the middle of the wild scene.
The 11–year veteran of the Providence Police force noticed that woman trapped in her car amidst incredible chaos, gunfire going off around them.
In the midst of the chaos last Thursday, an innocent woman was caught in the crossfire, literally stuck between the driver of that white pick up truck and the police officers shooting at him.
"As I’m running towards the truck the first shots are fired. I see that she’s in the vehicle and she can’t get out because her vehicle is actually wedged in between the truck and guardrail," says Ivan Tavarez.
Despite everything going on around him, for Patrol Officer Ivan Tavarez, getting that woman out of harms way became top priority. He got to her just as she was able to put her window down. Police body camera footage shows Officer Tavarez pulling her out through that window, potentially saving her life, as the second round of shots rang out.
"I was worried, I was worried anybody could’ve been hit and I remember when I got her to cover I asked her if she was okay and I was looking her over to see if I saw any blood but she wasn’t hit," he says.
Tavarez says he realizes the situation could have ended in tragedy had he not acted so quickly but while his actions are being praised by the police department, he’s remaining modest.
"I was only doing what any officer would’ve done in my situation. The only difference is that my incident was caught on camera, I mean officers do this everyday. So I don’t consider myself a hero at all," he says.
Officer Tavarez says the woman was left speechless while they took cover on 95 and that he would like to meet her again.
(C) WLNE/ABC 6 2017
