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Mitch Alford: Harlan County Sheriff's Office!
Mitch Alford: Open the door!
Marvin J. Lipfird: I vowed when I took office as sheriff
of Harlan County that I would clean this place up.
Voice: Hands behind your back! Marvin J. Lipfird: Do not move!
Because if we don't...
There's gonna be killings.
Mitch Alford: E.M.S.
Marvin J. Lipfird: There'll be a lot of killings.
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down! Get down!
NARRATOR: This season, on Kentucky Justice...
Chris Brewer: Step out of the truck!
NARRATOR: Sheriff Marvin Lipfird and his band of deputies battle
drugs...
Miron Southerland: Put your hands up!
NARRATOR: Guns...
and corruption...
Danny Lewis: You better show me your other hand or you're
gettin' ready to get tased.
NARRATOR: ...in the heart of Appalachia.
Chris Brewer: Get on the ground now!
NARRATOR: But it's all in the name of protecting the place
they call home... (Ice barking.)
Miron Southerland: Get him, Ice!
NARRATOR: ...a county called "Bloody Harlan."
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down! Mitch! Take cover!
(Exchange of gunfire)
Who's shot?
Marvin J. Lipfird: Headquarters, we got shots fired!
Shots fired on Ivy Hill! Mitch!
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down!
Chris Brewer: It just seems like it's a trend in Harlan County
that, uh, especially on the first of the month,
on a weekend, um...
that there's a crime spike.
The people that draw government benefits, they've, uh...
they've got money.
A lot of the dope dealers, you know,
they get their prescriptions at the first of the month, as well.
So you got, uh, the dopes out there and the people
that's got the money to buy it.
Dispatcher: Ten-four. We got a complaint. Two male ten-twelves
unresponsive in a vehicle on Ready Mix Road.
Mitch Alford: Ten-four.
Uh, we just got a call that two guys inside a vehicle on Ready
Mix Road and...
apparently they're just passed out in the roadway.
We'll get up there and make sure that they don't wake up
and drive off and wreck and kill somebody or somethin'.
NARRATOR: Deputy Mitch Alford races to the call and joins
a team of officers already struggling with the out
of control suspect.
Mitch Alford: Put your hands down.
Put your hands down. Quit fightin'.
Lay down.
Lay down; don't fight.
Miron Southerland: Lay down.
Check his pockets.
Watch for needles, watch for needles.
E.M.T.: Hey, man, what's your name?
Miron Southerland: Make sure he ain't go no weapons on him.
Mitch Alford: Marijuana?
Miron Southerland: Yeah, marijuana.
Mitch Alford: Arms down!
Do not lift your arm up again!
Chris Brewer: Just lay down and relax, dude.
Mitch Alford: Relax!
Chris Brewer: He's startin' to wake up now and has no clue
where he's at, so that's why he's a little combative 'cause
he has no idea why he's bein' drug out of his car.
Miron Southerland: He's got a bunch more *** in there.
You want to strap him across the chest?
E.M.T.: Yeah.
Miron Southerland: In the shape he's in, we ain't gonna be
able to charge him. I got him there.
Chris Brewer: A little bit of marijuana...
Mitch Alford: Empty wrapper, no Suboxone in it.
NARRATOR: Suboxone is the latest drug to plague Harlan County.
Like Methadone, addicts use Suboxone to treat
their dependency on deadly drugs like *** and painkillers.
But the cure can be worse than the disease if mixed
with alcohol or other drugs.
Mitch Alford: Almost every person we run into with drugs
on them, Suboxone's gonna be the main drug that they have,
which is supposed to help them not have a craving
for an opioid drug.
But basically what happens is they're hooked on it
and they're tradin' one drug for the other.
NARRATOR: This driver needs immediate medical attention,
so the medics rush him to the hospital while the deputies deal
with the passenger.
Mitch Alford: Good God! They're hangin' off the cliff!
Chris Brewer: This car is literally hangin' off the cliff
and the car in 'Drive', and your driver passed out.
Mitch Alford: Let's Mirandize him real quick.
Passenger: I need to ***, sir. Chris Brewer: Okay.
Mitch Alford: You've got the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford an attorney,
one will be provided for you.
You have the right to stop questioning any time...
Passenger: All right, I'd like to stop.
Mitch Alford: ... Or question and speak to an attorney,
or refuse to answer any further questions...
Passenger: Yeah, I'd refuse. Mitch Alford: I understand that.
Passenger: Thank you.
Chris Brewer: Very dangerous when you got somebody that's
at the wheel, car's in drive and it's inches from fallin' off
that cliff into the... the house.
Mitch Alford: We'll look for any kind of contraband, drugs,
needles...
anything that's gonna kinda tell us what he's on.
That way we can let the medical staff know.
He's also gonna be charged with operating a motor vehicle
under the influence.
Miron Southerland: I will follow you guys out there, but here...
in case you guys need to get them cuffs off quick,
there's the key to the cuffs. Yeah.
Chris Brewer: The driver was cited for D.U.I., obviously not
arrested because he was passed out at the steering wheel.
They're very lucky they're not being hauled off to the morgue
by the coroner tonight, instead they're goin' to the hospital.
That's something we're gonna have to work harder on, uh...
gettin' some of these dope pushers out that are sellin'dope
to these young kids.
NARRATOR: Drugs are killing Harlan County.
Most folks still try eking out a living in the coal mines
that dot the mountainous landscape here in the wilds
of eastern Kentucky.
But nearly a third of the county's thirty thousand
residents live below the poverty line,
and some of them turn to drugs to combat their depression.
It's Sheriff Marvin J. Lipfird's job to keep those people
in line.
Marvin J. Lipfird: In Harlan County if your family has not
been affected by the drug problem, you're lyin'.
It's just destroyed our county.
In the bad parts of the county, I have a reputation of bein'
a bad ***.
In the good parts of the county, the people love me.
But you'll either fear me or you'll respect me,
but either way... you'll know that I'm there.
There are a lot of people in our county...
some of the greatest, God fearin',
hard workin' people you'll ever encounter.
However, if you cross'em, you'll probably make that mistake
only once.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Lipfird's been policing this community
for twenty-two years.
Keeping the peace is in his blood.
Marvin J. Lipfird: My father was Chief of Police in the town
I grew up in for thirty-two years.
My son's also a police officer now,
so he's the third generation.
Because of what my father did and the things that he did
accomplish, the people trust me.
Jackie Cornet, drop the chalupa.
You never call, you never write...
Jackie: You got a warrant for me?
Marvin J. Lipfird: Actually, yeah.
That's, that's what I promised the people of this county,
I promised'em they would have someone that they could talk to
and that they could trust.
NARRATOR: It's a trust he shares with his small team of deputies.
Marvin J. Lipfird: In the seven years that I've been sheriff
of Harlan County, it has taken me basically six years of that
to actually build the excellent crew of guys,
and, you know, I've got a great group.
Chris Brewer: What's goin' on, Miron?
Marvin J. Lipfird: I've got Sergeant Miron Southerland.
He's the, uh, leader of the pack.
Miron Southerland: There's a lot of traffic out tonight, too.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Good, honest man.
He's the kinda guy that, uh, the men follow him.
They gladly follow him.
Deputy Mitch Alford, I call him my little top cop because, uh,
he's the kinda guy that just...
I could say, "Mitch, buddy, I need you to do whatever"
and he'll go do it.
Chris Brewer: Everybody get a copy of the new schedule?
Marvin J. Lipfird: We got anything serious goin' on?
Miron Southerland: Marvin's a good boss.
He takes good care of us. It's, it's not exactly a...
a work area, it's more like a family.
Marvin J. Lipfird: I'd have no problem, or no qualms at all,
saddlin' up and ridin' right through the gates of hell and
chargin' it with squirt guns with these guys because I know
we would get in there and do what had to be done.
NARRATOR: But waging a war on the county's drug problem
requires more than just his team.
Sheriff Lipfird also enlists the help of confidential informants,
known as investigative aides.
And tonight, he's sending out two of them to buy drugs
from a suspected female morphine dealer.
Female CI: Well, I figured, how do you want to do this?
Drop me off at Dairy Queen?
Mitch Alford: Well, what if we dropped you off at like, uh...
like eight-forty and let you walk down there to him?
Investigative aides are very crucial to our narcotics
investigations, controlled substance investigations.
Um, they give us the inside.
I mean, obviously we can't go in and purchase these drugs
ourselves.
Miron Southerland: Up on Ivy Hill, Alyssa,
at the apartments on Ivy Hill, they got morphine
and all kinds of pills up there.
Marvin J. Lipfird: How do you know that? She seen'em?
Miron Southerland: Well, she just called and asked her
if she wanted to buy some.
Marvin J. Lipfird: The person that we're going after tonight,
we know that she has, uh, sold to our informants before.
And so tonight we're actually gonna go in and do a controlled
buy from her and see if we can obtain a search warrant
with the information that we get.
Okay, here's what we'll do then...
It's the first of the month, man, it's booming.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Let's let him go ahead, wire her up,
do what they gotta do...
We've been waiting for this one. Been a long time comin', eh?
Miron Southerland: Yeah.
Female CI: So, just drop me off wherever that he can't see
that van.
Mitch Alford: We'll get you down there where they don't see.
We will, uh, issue her a recording device and, um,
Harlan County Sheriff's Office buy-money, which is recorded.
So if we do do a search warrant and we find our money,
that's more evidence towards our case.
This is Deputy Mitchell Alford of the Harlan County Sheriff's
Office.
Today's date is November 28th, 2012,
and the time is nineteen twenty-four hours.
At this time I will be locking the recorder down
until it is returned to me and retained by me,
along with any evidence collected.
We've had informants actually been strip-searched and,
to see if they're wearin' any kind of recordin' device
to get them.
If they're in there and the recordin' device is found,
they may try to harm'em.
NARRATOR: Being a CI in Harlan County is a desperate job.
Some, like this pair, do it to reduce their sentences
for their own crimes.
Mitch Alford: I want ya to set it up on the tape.
Female CI: Okay.
NARRATOR: They know every assignment puts their life
on the line, and their number one priority is preventing
their cover from being blown.
Mitch Alford: We'll prep ya.
You walk down the hill, go to the house,
we'll be watchin' for ya somewhere,
and when you come back out through there,
we'll just drive up, you'll jump in,
we'll de-prep the tape while somebody's drivin',
and we'll have it like that.
Female CI: Okay.
Mitch Alford: I need ya to say his name, too.
Female CI: I will.
Mitch Alford: Say his name and say, "Is this good,
or this is good stuff."
(Phone rings) Female CI: It's them.
NARRATOR: The deputies scramble to keep quiet.
It's the drug dealer on the line and they don't want to blow
the CI's cover.
Female CI: I've been havin' problems with this A.T.M.
machine, so I'm gonna have to walk up here to the other one.
Yes, I'm definitely comin'.
Okay, I'll call ya as soon as I get the money in my hand, okay?
Mitch Alford: Whew.
Don't answer that phone unless I tell ya it's okay.
Female CI: I'm sorry. Mitch Alford: Okay.
Female CI: I'm shakin'.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Main thing is... stay calm.
Female CI: Okay.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Take your time.
Female CI: Okay. I'm nervous.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Don't let'em see ya sweat.
Female CI: I just gotta remember what lie I tell.
Marvin J. Lipfird: I know it's hard for you to believe,
but I'm pretty good at this.
Female CI: I am? Marvin J. Lipfird: I am.
I'm real good at it, okay?
You're good at it or you'd done, somebody done found you out.
Female CI: You think so?
Marvin J. Lipfird: I don't know. Think about it.
Female CI: Okay.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Most people become CI's, uh, because we pay
we pay money. Uh, it's all about profit.
Some actually do it because they really want to better
their community and eliminate the problems in their community.
It takes a unique person to be a, uh,
confidential informant and actually do it well.
They stand a grave chance of, uh,
serious physical injury or even death.
NARRATOR: The sheriff prepares the CI's for the buy
at the dealer's house.
Marvin J. Lipfird: All right. Do not get stupid.
Protect yourself.
If they break on ya, do what ya gotta do.
Be ready. Just do it.
Mitch Alford: Okay. Let's roll.
Female CI: Okay, I'll call ya as soon as I get the money
in my hand. Okay.
Mitch Alford: Whew.
Don't answer that phone unless I tell ya it's okay.
Female CI: I'm sorry. Mitch Alford: Okay.
Female CI: I'm shakin'.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Lipfird and his men send two confidential
informants out on the streets to make a buy from an alleged
morphine dealer.
If they're found wearing the wire,
it could cost them their lives.
Now all the team can do is sit back and wait for word
of their safety.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Well, you can hear a mouse fart.
Chris Brewer: The current controlled buy that we're on,
if it takes longer than thirty minutes,
then there's a chance that the CI's been burned.
We're definitely gonna have to go in.
(Phone rings) Hello?
What do you mean shoot? Okay.
Yeah, I'll let everybody know. Good deal, man.
NARRATOR: The informants confirm the buy, but that's not all...
Chris Brewer: They made that buy on Ivy Hill, but apparently, uh,
the boyfriend of the female is kind of runnin' his jaw sayin'
that he doesn't fight anymore, that he shoots people.
Travis Freeman: Oh really? Chris Brewer: Yeah.
NARRATOR: With the CI's Intel and the dealer's boyfriend
threatening to shoot, the deputies have enough evidence
to fast track a search warrant and move in.
Marvin J. Lipfird: How do you wanna do it?
Miron Southerland: So that's our entry team right there, Mitch,
Chris, Brit and Hunter. Okay?
Marvin J. Lipfird: Now what we need to do is come up with
a strategy, a, uh, safe tactical plan, to try to advance
on this apartment building without putting ourselves
more in harm's way than we need to.
Travis Freeman: How many people are we supposed to be expecting?
Marvin J. Lipfird: Should be a male and a female.
Travis Freeman: Okay.
Miron Southerland: The, uh, female has made a statement
on the recorded buy that...
her husband has P.T.S.D., okay.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Wife, girlfriend...
Miron Southerland: Whatever, girlfriend, yeah. So...
we need to take it seriously.
NARRATOR: The dealer's boyfriend is an Iraqi war veteran,
and may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,
so the sheriff and his men must prepare for a suspect who may
not go down without a fight.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We actually have the warrant for her.
He lives there; he didn't sell the drugs, but...
I prefer to get the male in...
down, or, you know, in custody quicker than her because
he's the one that made the threat that he was, you know,
he don't fight anymore, he just kills people.
So... all right?
Danny Lewis: There is for sure a nine...
some kind of nine-millimeter handgun inside the residence,
so...
Marvin J. Lipfird: All right, I'm gonna say this,
make this very clear...
do not get trigger-happy or get stupid.
Protect yourself.
Always protect yourselves, okay?
Miron Southerland: Keep your fingers off that trigger.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Everybody understand? I'm the sheriff.
I'm the one that makes the decisions whether we're gonna
do this or not.
However, I'm sort of the leader of the band and I can't do it
by myself. I've got a good crew and, uh,
they believe in my philosophy,
they believe in my way of policing,
they believe in what we do.
We all good?
Travis Freeman: Yes, sir.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Bill, you're up.
Bill: Everybody remove their hat.
We're gonna let Stan do our prayer for us.
Stan: Our most kind, gracious Heavenly Father,
we come to you this evening and we ask for your safety.
God, your mercy be upon each and every one that's involved.
Father that you just intervene, keep your hand upon each and
every one, protect and shield. In your name we pray, amen.
Deputies: Amen.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Thank you, Stan.
Chris Brewer: I always feel a little more comfortable
when we have a chaplain out and we say the prayer.
Bible verse that says, "If God is for us,
who can be against us?"
NARRATOR: So they gear up for the worst...
just in case.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We decided to execute a search warrant
on the Ivy Hill section of the Harlan city limits
of the county. It's, uh... it's more of an affluent area.
In the county, it's one of the nicer places.
We're gonna do what we call a no-knock warrant.
As soon as the door opens, the deputies are gonna enter
and announce...
announce and enter should I say, and then once we get into
the house...
then that's where we go from there and try to secure
the house.
Travis Freeman: The mission is: Get the guy in cuffs and go home
safely.
You have to be on point.
You have to be extra careful about doin' things,
'cause you know it's not just your life on the line...
it's my whole family.
Miron Southerland: Hey, you guys remember I have a rifle,
so if it gets bad, just back off and I'll pick him off.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We're almost there.
Miron Southerland: Let's hope that, uh,
everything goes smoothly, you know?
We take the guy down, we take him to jail, good night;
everybody goes home.
Let's hope for the best.
All right. Here we are, boys.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Come on, shut your lights off.
Marvin J. Lipfird: When it happens, it'll happen quick.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Lipfird sends a plainclothes officer
to the suspect's door to serve the warrant while the rest
of the deputies are poised to strike.
Miron Southerland: Go, guy. Go, go, go, go, go.
Get the door! Get the door!
Mitch Alford: Kick it! Kick it!
Sheriff's Office! Hands up!
Chris Brewer: Sheriff's Office! Hands up!
Mitch Alford: Hands up!
Miron Southerland: Get down!
(Exchange of gunfire)
Get cover! Get down! Get down! Get down! Get back! Get back!
Chris Brewer: Who's shot?
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down! Get down! Mitch!
Take cover!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Everybody take cover! Take cover!
One, headquarters. We got shots fired. Shots fired on Ivy Hill.
Miron Southerland: Put your gun down!
Marvin J. Lipfird: When it happens, it'll happen quick.
NARRATOR: The Harlan County Sheriff's Department is poised
to raid a suspected morphine dealer's home.
She's with her boyfriend, who is potentially armed and dangerous.
Miron Southerland: Go, guy. Go, go, go, go, go.
Mitch Alford: Sheriff's Office! Hands up! Kick it! Kick it!
(Exchange of gunfire)
Miron Southerland: Get cover!
Get down! Get down! Get down! Mitch! Mitch!
Marvin J. Lipfird: One, headquarters.
We got shots fired. Shots fired on Ivy Hill.
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down!
Voice: Get down!
Chris Brewer: Who's shot?
Miron Southerland: Come on out! Put your gun down!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Get down! Get down! Get down!
Miron Southerland: This is the Sheriff's Department!
Come out with your hands up!
Put your hands up!
Don't move! Don't move!
On the ground! On the ground!
Mitch Alford: On the ground!
Miron Southerland: Watch your fingers!
Mitch Alford: Safety! Safety!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Watch out! Watch out!
Chris Brewer: Go! Go! Get Ice!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Keep your hands where I can see'em!
Chris Brewer: I got him! He ain't doin' xxxx!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Get him out of here! Get him outta here!
Chris Brewer: Get out here!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Move! Chris Brewer: Get out here.
NARRATOR: They manage to disarm and subdue the shooter.
Chris Brewer: Get on the ground now!
On the ground now!
Get your hand where I can see it!
Keep your hands where I can see it!
Mitch Alford: Upstairs clear!
NARRATOR: But the suspected drug dealer's still inside the house
and may be armed.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Unit one, headquarters.
Hey! Everbody stay off the radio! Stay off the radio!
Miron Southerland: Off the radio!
Voice: Clear.
NARRATOR: But she surrenders without a fight.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We have two subjects in custody, uh,
no one's been hit, everybody's fine.
The deputies came out of the vehicle,
the guy looks at all the deputies,
they're announcing Sheriff's Office, Sheriff's Office...
he slams the door, they go to try to kick the door,
they kick the door two or three times,
and on the third time it flew open.
Uh, when the door flew open, he decided to start shootin' and,
um, the deputies had to return fire to...
to save their own lives and to, uh,
to protect their fellow deputies that was around'em.
NARRATOR: Despite the gunfire, the raid is a success.
They have both suspects in custody and no one was injured.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Who fired?
Miron Southerland: He did. Mitch Alford: I fired!
Suspect: Y'all fired at me!
Mitch Alford: I fired.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Who all fired a weapon?
Miron Southerland: Mitch did, I know.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Who else?
Miron Southerland: That's it, as I know.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Well tonight, only one deputy actually
discharged his weapon, which was, you know, Mitch Alford.
Anybody hit? Check yourself.
Miron Southerland: Check yourself. You won't feel it.
You'll just see blood. Check yourself.
If a bullet doesn't hit a bone, it can go through and through.
And there's a good chance, if your adrenaline's high,
you won't know you were shot.
Chris Brewer: I think I'm good. I'm good.
Miron Southerland: Good deal. He ran back in the house...
Marvin J. Lipfird: Put him in the car. Search him
thoroughly.
Suspect's Girlfriend: I do not understand what is goin' on.
Nobody said police department.
Voice: What's his name? Marvin wants to know.
Mitch Alford: I don't know nothin' right now.
Marvin J. Lipfird: You're no longer...
you're no longer part of the equation.
NARRATOR: Now, Sheriff Lipfird must turn his attention
to Deputy Mitch Alford...
Where's your weapon? Mitch Alford: Right here.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Leave it in your holster.
NARRATOR: ...the only officer to return fire.
Marvin J. Lipfird: How many rounds did you fire?
Mitch Alford: I think one, I don't know.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Okay. That's okay.
He was a little... he was pale.
I could've told him every range of emotion that he was goin'
through at that time, because I've been there.
I've done it.
Mitch Alford: Yeah, I'm good.
I... I can't talk right now.
Discharging your weapon is a big ordeal. I mean, you...
some police have been in this career for twenty years
and retired out and never had to fire their weapon.
So, I mean, anytime you fire your weapon there's a chance
that you may take somebody's life.
Miron Southerland: Come over here to the van.
Pull your weapon for me.
Fired two rounds. Mitch Alford: Okay.
NARRATOR: The young deputy must surrender his service weapon
until they can conduct an official review of the shooting.
Miron Southerland: You've done nothing wrong, okay?
Mitch Alford: Right.
Miron Southerland: This is just procedure.
Mitch Alford: Yeah, I know.
Miron Southerland: There's my gun, put it in your holster.
All right. You good to go? Go ahead.
Mitch Alford: Thanks, man.
Your gun's your main tool in a policing career.
If someone takes that away from you, you know,
you think you've done something wrong.
But just that reassure of, helped me the most for somebody
to say, "You know what, you've done a good job.
Everything's okay. Here's a gun."
Marvin J. Lipfird: Let's look for bullets... bullet holes.
Danny Lewis: Here's one
Chris Brewer: Good.
Miron Southerland: Everybody's checkin'.
Marvin J. Lipfird: I've got a casin' over here.
Miron Southerland: Casing there, that's Mitch.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Go do a search.
Miron Southerland: Sounds good.
NARRATOR: With both suspects now in custody,
the crime scene is finally under control.
Marvin J. Lipfird: They're not only gonna be charged with
the drugs they sold earlier, the drugs we found
in the house, but now he's gonna be charged with about
twelve counts of criminal attempt to commit ***.
Mitch Alford: It makes you think,
it makes you really think how quickly...
that the scenario could go from nothing to being something,
but my training kicked in and everything worked out
for the best.
NARRATOR: The next morning, Sheriff Lipfird places Deputy
Mitch Alford on administrative leave until an independent
review of the shooting is conducted.
He checks in on his young top cop to see how he's handling it.
Marvin J. Lipfird: He's a young man.
It's a stressful thing to be involved in a, uh,
in a shooting situation.
He needs support right now, so that's what I'm gonna do.
What's goin' on?
Mitch Alford: How are you doin', boss man?
Marvin J. Lipfird: Uh... you doin' all right?
Mitch Alford: I'm very surprised no one was hit.
Marvin J. Lipfird: That's... that's what matters.
Mitch Alford: The rounds had to go inches by our head.
Marvin J. Lipfird: When you discharge your weapon,
and then you add in the fact that you're bein' shot at, um...
you know, it... it'll weigh heavy.
Mitch Alford: Oh yeah.
That was the first shootout I ever got in.
It didn't seem real afterwards.
I mean, it was the grace of God that everybody made it out
all right.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Miron... Miron's really concerned.
Mitch Alford: I know.
Marvin J. Lipfird: But that's Miron.
Mitch Alford: He's my buddy.
I learned about the guys I work with are a, uh...
they're my family.
I'd do anything in the world for the guys and they'd do the same
for me.
Marvin J. Lipfird: How's Debby? That's the question.
Mitch Alford: I got a great wife.
Marvin J. Lipfird: They worry. Don't think they don't worry.
Mitch Alford: Oh yeah.
You know, I don't second-guess the career I chose.
I've been through a lot in this career, the good and bad,
a lot of emotional ups and downs.
But, um...
you know, it's just the nature; it's the job we chose.
But, uh... my big thing is I was just concerned about ya.
You know, make sure...
it's not changed your mind about doin' this job.
Mitch Alford: Are you kiddin' me?
What else am I gonna do?
Marvin J. Lipfird: You could become a ***,
but I don't know how you can live on five dollars a year.
Mitch Alford: Yeah, it wouldn't work.
I'm goin' home at the end of the night.
I've got a family to take care of,
and I'm not gonna die so somebody else can, you know,
live out their days.
I'm ready to come back out.
I got a lot of work I gotta get done.
Marvin J. Lipfird: I'll give you some advice my dad gave me,
he said, "Son, make it the last thing you have to do,
but if you have to do it... don't look back."
Mitch Alford: Yeah.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We'll get ya back in the saddle.
Mitch Alford: Sounds good to me.
Marvin J. Lipfird: All right. We'll see ya.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Lipfird knows Deputy Mitch and the team are
still shaken from the shooting, and gets them back in action.
Miron Southerland: Bad guy! Bad guy!
Marvin J. Lipfird: One of the things in this business
that will get you killed is hesitation.
NARRATOR: Last night's shootout...
Mitch Alfrod: Sheriff's Office! Hands up!
(Exchange of gunfire.)
Miron Southerland: Get down! Get down! Get down!
On the ground!
NARRATOR: ...was just another reminder that enforcing the law
in Harlan County is hard work.
Marvin J. Lipfird: And they're not only gonna be charged with,
uh, the drugs that they sold earlier,
the drugs that we found in the house...
... but now he's gonna be charged with about twelve counts
of criminal attempt to commit ***.
NARRATOR: But that hasn't stopped a new Lipfird
from joining the ranks - Sheriff Marvin's son... Brit.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Look at ya, buddy. Sit down.
NARRATOR: And today, it's initiation time.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Every officer, if they carry a taser,
most agencies require'em to, uh, be shot and shocked by the
taser, and we're no exception.
Remember all those hard days you gave your mom?
(Brit laughs.)
Before I shoot him, I'll start reminding him of some of
the things he pulled when he was young, so, you know,
just to kind of let him know that, hey,
I'm thinkin' about these things right before I put fifty
thousand watts through your hind end.
You want me to say, "Taser, taser, taser," Brit?
Brit Lipfird: Yeah.
Marvin J. Lipfird: You do?
Taser, taser, taser.
Lay down. Justin...
I guess I said...
Brit Lipfird: Yeah, just a little bit.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Okay, I'm sorry about that.
It's that learnin' disability I have.
NARRATOR: Being a lawman runs in the Lipfird blood.
Marvin J. Lipfird: One of the reasons I wanted to become
a police officer was because of my father.
My father was Chief of Police in the town that I grew up in
for thirty-two years.
My dad's nickname was "Gunsmoke."
He ran the city of Evarts with a, uh,
iron fist and a heavy hand, and he had to.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Marvin is confident his son has
the Lipfird courage, but after the shooting incident,
he needs to keep the rest of his team sharp as well.
Mitch Alford: Harlan County Sheriff's Office!
Bad guy! Bad guy!
(Shouting)
Marvin J. Lipfird: Decide now who's gonna be the breach.
NARRATOR: So he's putting them through their paces.
Marvin J. Lipfird: One of the things in this business
that will get you killed is hesitation.
Now, walk like this.
It could get your head cracked or your head blown off.
You cannot hesitate in this job. You can't.
You have to make a sound tactical decision,
move forward and do the best you can.
Your call, Mitch.
Mitch Alford: You all ready? Forward!
Deputies: Harlan County Sheriff's Office!
Mitch Alford: Open the door!
Miron Southerland: Bad!
(Mitch fires at the target.)
Ceasefire!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Oh, there ya go, Mitch.
All your rounds are within the hand.
You're good. I mean, you've tore'em all to pieces.
Hey Miron! Miron Southerland: Yes?
Marvin J. Lipfird: You'll be pleased to know...
Mitch is the top gun right now.
You could see the fire start to burn again in Mitch,
and when I saw the fire burn, I knew that he's good.
He's the golden boy again, you know?
I knew that.
I knew he was my, my top cop again.
Miron Southerland: Thank you, Mitch!
Good run! Good run!
NARRATOR: And Sheriff Lipfird's got his top cop back.
An official review of the shooting has cleared Deputy
Mitch of any wrongdoing and put him back on duty.
Tonight, he patrols with Sergeant Miron Southerland
and Deputy Chris Brewer.
Mitch Alford: What's that complaint on 221?
You got the address and everything?
Miron Southerland: Yeah, it's going to be East Highway 221.
Apparently their neighbors shot their cat through the neck
with a... I believe they said with an arrow.
I am the only K-9 unit in this county...
...and being the K-9, you have to have a soft spot for animals
of any nature.
So the arrow through the cat's neck, you know,
why would somebody do that?
NARRATOR: The officers are en route to Pine Mountain
an isolated valley deep in Appalachian mountain country.
Mitch Alford: In Harlan County, we may be thirty or forty miles
across the mountain, we won't have any radio service,
no cell phone service, no way to get out, and that's...
that's part of the job when you put the badge on.
NARRATOR: But Sergeant Southerland knows there's an
even greater challenge up here.
Miron Southerland: People on the mountain,
they like their privacy, they like their space,
so you just got to...
you gotta treat'em with respect, but you also gotta be cautious
on'em too, 'cause, uh...
we were servin' warrants in an area on Pine Mountain and I had
a shotgun discharged behind me.
You just gotta watch yourself on this mountain.
Mitch Alford: I believe it's this beige trailer...
or it's the far trailer.
There's somebody standin' on the porch right now.
We're in God's country right now.
Hello, sir. You call?
NARRATOR: In a county where anything goes,
the Harlan deputies have seen a lot, but this is a first.
Chris Brewer: How are we doin' tonight, guys?
Cat Owner: I just want it out of her neck and I want somethin'
done.
Mitch Alford: Well, I don't think there's a twenty-four-hour
vet or we would try to get somebody to...
Cat Owner: Yeah, I know. Mitch Alford: Yeah, it's bad.
Cat Owner: You don't think it's deep enough to where it'll kill
her, do ya?
Miron Southerland: I'll be honest with ya,
it looks to me that as if it's missed everything, but...
now let me finish... Cat Owner: But...
Miron Southerland: But...
it could be puttin' pressure on an artery and once you remove it
it could release that artery.
Now it could kill her. There's that possibility.
NARRATOR: The owners fear their pet won't live through the night
Cat Owner: She's pregnant, too. You know, she's got...
Mitch Alford: What all happened? Tell us the whole story.
Cat Owner: I was sittin' there at the kitchen table,
we was all sittin' there talkin'.
I hadn't seen my uncle in a while.
He come to visit, stay all night.
And I saw the red light and the next thing I know I saw
the red light run through their yard and through mine.
I guess the arrow...
Miron Southerland: So you seen it comin' from that house?
Cat Owner: Yes. Miron Southerland: Okay.
Cat Owner: Is there any way you can get'em for animal cruelty,
or anything?
Miron Southerland: Absolutely.
Cat Owner: It's just a cat, you know, but to us it...
you know, we've had it for a while.
Miron Southerland: No, it's not just a cat.
It's a pet, okay?
Cat Owner: Yeah. It's my five-year-old's.
Miron Southerland: And they can be charged...
they can be charged for it.
You guys wanna go over and talk to'em?
See what you can find out.
NARRATOR: Deputies Mitch and Chris cautiously approach
the neighbor for some answers.
They know if he can shoot a cat, he can also shoot a cop.
Mitch Alford: Every home you go to will have at least
one or more guns.
There's gonna be a gun there, so are they gonna use it,
or are they not?
But you still have to be on your toes.
Chris Brewer: How are we doing, sir?
Can I see your hands?
Okay, what we got goin' on with, uh, the cat?
Somebody shot a...
arrow through the cat. Who else is here?
Neighbor: Just me and my wife, she's in the kitchen.
Chris Brewer: So you don't know anything about a cat bein' shot
with an arrow?
Neighbor: No. What's supposed to happen with arrow?
Mitch Alford: Well, there's a cat layin' over there with an
arrow straight through its neck.
Neighbor: Through its neck? Mitch Alford: Yeah, okay?
I mean, right there's an arrow.
It's kinda... you know what I'm sayin'?
Neighbor: I've not shot no cat.
Mitch Alford: The cat came from over here and it had the arrow,
it's got a red light on it.
Neighbor: My bow huntin' stuff.
I've got my bow back here if you want me to get it.
Mitch Alford: Yeah, let's look at it.
Chris Brewer: Any firearms in the house?
Neighbor: Yes.
Mitch Alford: Don't grab any of them guns,
give me a false impression, okay?
Neighbor: No, I mean, if you wanna see my guns before I go
back here, I'll do so gladly.
Mitch Alford: I see somethin' hangin' out up there.
Neighbor: Where do you see somethin' hangin' out at?
Mitch Alford: That rifle. That a toy?
Neighbor: Yes. That's a toy.. Mitch Alford: Okay.
I'm just lettin' you know, don't reach for nothin' real quick.
As long as you don't pull yours we won't pull ours.
Neighbor: No.
(Radio chatter.)
Mitch Alford: Let's step in here and we'll talk.
Neighbor: I've not shot no cat. So...
I mean, I'm an animal lover.
I've got dogs and ducks and everything else, so...
Mitch Alford: This the only bow you got?
Neighbor: Yeah. Well, my kids has got little play bows.
Mitch Alford: Care if we look around?
Neighbor: No, help yourself. Mitch Alford: Okay.
NARRATOR: With kids in the picture,
the deputies' suspects suddenly double.
Chris Brewer: There's one right here. Same thing.
Mitch Alford: They're holdin' their cat and it's bleedin' out
of its neck, okay?
There's an arrow clean through this cat's neck and it's
squirmin' around for its life.
(Cat hisses in pain) Cat Owner: Oh God.
NARRATOR: With the cat fighting for its life,
Sergeant Miron Southerland tries his best to play vet
in the middle of the night.
Miron Southerland: I cannot persuade you to do either way,
but I know if it was my animal, and it's just my animal, okay...
I would attempt to pull it out.
Cat Owner: What do you think?
Cat Owner's Husband: You can just try to pull it out.
I mean, it's...
if we can get her out here somewhere, you know. Oh God.
Miron Southerland: Take that towel and wrap it around her
limbs so she can't move, she's a mummy,
because she could do more damage to herself by thrashin'.
(Cat hisses in pain) Cat Owner: Oh God.
(Cat hisses in pain.)
Cat Owner's Husband: I don't know.
Cat Owner: It's come out a little bit, ain't it?
Cat Owner's Husband: No, not really.
Miron Southerland: It's clotted around it.
(Cat hisses in pain.)
Cat Owner: Oh Lord.
Miron Southerland: You got a pair of, uh, tin cutters?
What you can do...
is cut it off on each side and then just wrap her up
and immobilize her.
Cat Owner: She's my baby.
Miron Southerland: There we go.
Is that some kind of new arrow they make now?
Unclear...
Cat Owner's Husband: There ya go.
Miron Southerland: Good deal.
Comin' under your head, honey.
Let's see how they're doin' over there.
See if they're havin' any luck.
NARRATOR: As the evidence mounts,
Deputy Chris Brewer thinks it points in one direction...
Miron Southerland: There's another piece to it.
It says Kiddy Arrows. Mitch Alford: Yeah.
Chris Brewer: He's telling us that he has nothing to do
with this, but when we go into his house,
he's got the same type of arrows with the lights on the end.
Right now there's a lot of evidence pointin' towards them
that they, you know... in fact, did it.
Here's your bows.
The two we've got here, this is the one we just pulled out
of the cat.
I mean, it's identical to the same arrows that's in that one
right there.
Neighbor: Same brand and everything.
Now this one right here? Mitch Alford: Uh-huh.
Chris Brewer: You also got the same brand on this one, Blazer.
Mitch Alford: Right now, you know what I'm sayin'
how it looks?
Neighbor: It don't look good for me.
Mitch Alford: You got a bow layin' in plain sight
with the exact same arrows attached to your bow, okay?
And if we took this to a grand jury and presented
all the evidence, they would probably agree with us,
you know what I'm sayin'?
So I mean, I'm not sayin' that you're guilty...
Neighbor: I've not shot no cat.
Mitch Alford: ...In any kind of way,
I'm just tryin' to figure out what's goin' on here, okay?
Neighbor: Now, if my girl shot it,
she's gonna get her hide blistered and I will contact
you all.
And if she shot it, I will help pay for medical bills.
Mitch Alford: Okay.
Neighbor: You got anything...
any questions or somethin' just a holler at me.
Chris Brewer: Okay, we'll let'em know.
Miron Southerland: Let's get out of here and head back
to the office.
NARRATOR: After a tense night, the vet was able to remove
the arrow and save the cat, and the neighbors paid
for her treatment. Vet: It'll be all right.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, back at the sheriff's office,
Sheriff Lipfird gathers his team for a much more dangerous case.
He's gotten a tip that a resident is selling ***
from her apartment...
just blocks from the sheriff's office.
Miron Southerland: Hey, we just got some new information on this
one and we think it's better to move on this one right now.
Sound good to you?
Marvin J. Lipfird: I'm happy as a lark. I am. I'm itchin'.
Let's get some search warrants and start getting' this dope.
Mitch Alford: Let's do it. Miron Southerland: Let's go.
NARRATOR: They're confident their informant's Intel is good.
Miron Southerland: Real good buy. We got ***, correct?
Mitch Alford: *** and Suboxone.
Miron Southerland: So I think right now is the best time
to move on that.
Mitch Alford: All we know of is a male and female are there
at this time. Children are unknown.
Miron Southerland: We do have good audio from the buy.
It was purchased in the apartment,
so everything's good to go.
NARRATOR: But the dealer could be armed and may not go easy,
so they'll go in battle ready.
Sheriff Lipfird takes every precaution to protect his men,
sometimes his men take their own steps.
Travis Freeman: In my tac vest, I keep a prayer cloth that was
given to me from my grandmother, and I've had it, you know,
since she died.
When I started puttin' that in my tactical vest,
it just made me feel a little better.
It seemed like it enforced the vest a little bit more, to me.
It doesn't hurt to have someone lookin' out over ya.
Mitch Alford: Needles... big possibility on needles.
Miron Southerland: So watch yourself getting' poked.
All of us are gonna be at the door,
but you and Travis will be the actual entry, primary.
NARRATOR: Deputy Mitch volunteers to take the door,
the most dangerous place for an officer entering the residence
of a potentially armed suspect.
Marvin J. Lipfird: You know, everything we do you have
the potential to get yourself shot.
You're goin' to someone's house, uh, it's dark,
there could be a drug deal goin' down,
they may just decide they may not want to go to jail
and you could end up in a shootout.
The potential's there every time you put your uniform on.
Miron Southerland: All right, let'*** it.
Mitch Alford: Oh well.
Marvin J. Lipfird: It's pretty bold in and of itself to sell
drugs two blocks down from the Sheriff's Office...
three blocks from the local city school.
But, uh, that pisses me off just a little bit,
just to be honest about it.
Well, we'll take care of that tonight.
NARRATOR: Sheriff Marvin and Sergeant Southerland cut off
the exits while the deputies silently enter
the suspect's lair.
Chris Brewer: Sheriff's Office! Search warrant!
Mitch Alford: Sheriff's Office! Let's go!
Chris Brewer: Hands behind your back!
NARRATOR: It's just after midnight and the Harlan County
Sheriff's Office is going in hard and fast on an alleged
*** dealer's apartment.
Chris Brewer: Sheriff's Office! Search warrant!
Mitch Alford: Sheriff's Office! Let's go!
Chris Brewer: Hands behind your back!
Marvin J. Lipfird: Handcuff her!
Danny Lewis: Put your hands behind your back.
You're being detained for right now.
Travis Freeman: Stand up, Paul.
Miron Southerland: Clear. Mitch Alford: Clear.
NARRATOR: No weapons, so the deputies search for the drugs.
Female Drug Dealer: There's nothin' here.
The only thing that's here is that...
Mitch Alford: No ***? Female Drug Dealer: No ***.
Mitch Alford: 'Cause, uh, we have made a buy off
of you for ***, okay?
Female Drug Dealer: Anyways, I have nothin' to say about that.
But all that's here is pot.
Mitch Alford: Okay. Suboxone?
Female Drug Dealer: I didn't sell no Suboxone.
Mitch Alford: No Suboxone?
Female Drug Dealer: No. Hell no.
I don't touch them things. Nope, I look at'em and I puke.
NARRATOR: But Sheriff Lipfird isn't buying it.
Marvin J. Lipfird: Knocked on the door and they just opened
the door up, they had no clue we were there.
Very smooth, uh...
naturally as always...
denied everything.
I was just gonna make sure they didn't...
before they came to the door, they didn't, uh,
toss somethin' out here on the ground.
I was just wantin' to look around and make sure.
They're tryin' to dispose of it.
Mitch Alford: Whoa.
Miron Southerland: What was it? Needles?
Mitch Alford: Rig.
NARRATOR: A rig, or loaded hypodermic syringe,
falls from the closet, nearly sticking Deputy Mitch.
Mitch Alford: If there is any needles...
so if there is, you need to let me know now.
Female Drug Dealer: No needles, I promise.
Mitch Alford: There's one layin' in the floor right now
because it fell of the top shelf in there.
Female Drug Dealer: What?
Miron Southerland: Almost stabbed him.
Female Drug Dealer: I don't know that... I'm sorry.
Mitch Alford: So I'm gonna ask you all...
Female Drug Dealer: It's not... Mitch Alford: Listen.
You're gonna catch a felony wanton endangerment of a police
officer charge if you're not honest with me,
so think through your head really hard...
is there anymore needles that's gonna stick us?
Female Drug Dealer: If there is any, Mitch, the only other
place will be on that cabinet. Mitch Alford: On the cabinet?
Female Drug Dealer: Yes, because I don't know
people put xxxx there.
Mitch Alford: Upon executing the search warrant on the residence,
we located, uh, several needles, we've located, uh...
a green, leafy substance that's believed to be marijuana.
Inside one of the needles there's a liquid substance
that the female subject stated that is probably ***,
and possibly has some Suboxone in it.
Female Drug Dealer: I don't stay on drugs.
Mitch Alford: I know you don't stay on drugs.
I think you sell it for somebody, though.
NARRATOR: Deputy Mitch knows this suspect.
Danny Lewis: Stand right there.
NARRATOR: In a small county like Harlan,
cops and criminals often grow up together.
Mitch hopes he can use this relationship to leverage
the suspect and go after the bigger dealer he believes
she may be working for.
Mitch Alford: I personally think that maybe she runs
for somebody, a bigger source, so that may lead us to them.
Mitch Alford: Quit cussin', hear me?
Quit cussin' so much.
It is.
You shouldn't be cussin' so much.
Female Drug Dealer: Oh, can I ride in the big truck?
Mitch Alford: Not in the big truck.
Female Drug Dealer: Oh, come on, Mitch.
Mitch Alford: This is a small town, everybody knows everybody.
You're gonna run into your family,
you're gonna run into friends...
Mitch Alford: Take your one last draw.
Female Drug Dealer: Okay.
Mitch Alford: Put your hands back here.
Mitch Alford: ...And you're gonna have to do your job.
You're gonna have to arrest them,
that's part of the job when you put the badge on.
Female Drug Dealer: It's ridiculous.
Mitch Alford: What's ridiculous?
Female Drug Dealer: All of you here.
Only one of you all could've come and got me.
Mitch Alford: We didn't know who all was gonna be up there.
Female Drug Dealer: I'm a little girl. Look at it.
Mitch Alford: That's part of it, you know.
Female Drug Dealer: I am a good person;
I just made the wrong choices.
Everybody does it, everybody messes up.
I lost my kids for no reason, so there...
I turned to drugs, that's all there was.
That's all I had.
It's that easy to ruin your life.
Mitch Alford: She said she was tryin' to straighten her life
up, get off drugs, so maybe this was the wake-up call she needed.
Marvin J. Lipfird: We've not stopped the drug problem.
We'll never stop the drug problem.
But I'd rather die fightin' the drug war...
than live on my knees lettin' it happen behind me.
NARRATOR: After a long week, the team from the Harlan County
Sheriff's Office finds a moment to come together to honor
one of their own.
Marvin J. Lipfird: The Harlan County Sheriff's Office
is gonna give the Citation of Valor to a deputy that, uh,
exemplified himself above and beyond,
and put himself in extreme danger and potential cost of his
own life in the line of fire during the shooting incident
that we had.
On November 30th, 2012, Deputy Mitch Alford placed himself
in imminent danger.
In a selfless act of heroism, Deputy Alford displayed
true courage under fire.
On the fourteenth day of December 2012,
Deputy Mitch Alford is awarded the Harlan County Sheriff's
Office Medal of Valor.
Mitchell. Congratulations.
Mitch Alford: Thank you. Thank you.
(Deputies applaud)
Mitch Alford: Wow.
Marvin J. Lipfird: You're the first person in Sheriff's Office
history to actually receive the Sheriff's Office Medal of Valor.
Mitch Alford: It was a big surprise to me.
They snuck and presented me with the Medal of Valor.
I was proud.
Mitch Alford: Did you know about this?
Miron Southerland: Uh-huh.
Mitch Alford: You knew about this.
Marvin J. Lipfird: It was his idea.
At that point is when I truly realized...
they understand we're a family here,
and it didn't bring me to tears. No, I'm tough.
But that's when I knew it. That's when I knew.