The Alabama police officer who went viral after he was pistol-whipped with his own gun last week said he didn't shoot his attacker because he didn't want to make headlines as the nation's newest vilified cop.
The Birmingham detective, whose name has not yet been released, paused while a suspect attacked him during a traffic stop because he feared the country-wide backlash he might receive for killing a black man, the head of the local police union said Friday.
"Local law enforcement officers are walking on egg shells because they're so hesitant of how to interact because of what's taking place in the media," police Sgt. Heath Boackle, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told the Daily News.
"They're losing these confrontations," he added. "He who hesitates is lost."
Images of the bloodied officer lying limp and face-down on the ground quickly went viral after witnesses dispersed them on social media, where the wounded deputy was heavily mocked by cop critics.
"Pistol whipped his ass to sleep," one Facebook user wrote.
The plainclothes Birmingham cop was investigating a string of burglaries when he stopped a GMC Yukon and was attacked by the driver who immediately got out of his vehicle, authorities said.
The suspect, 34-year-old Janard Cunningham, allegedly stole the detective's gun during the struggle and clubbed him repeatedly with it.
