Sandy MaloneCenterville, IA – Police have released the bodycam video of a fugitive dressed as a choo choo train engineer who viciously attacked a Centerville police officer (video below).
Court documents showed the incident occurred at about 10 a.m. on March 17 after police were called to remove a wanted man from the Centerville High School parking lot, the Daily Iowegian reported.
Centerville Police Officer Gary Buckallew responded to the scene and encountered 38-year old Kaleb Morrow, who was wanted for probation violations.
Bodycam video showed that Morrow was wearing striped overalls like those one would associate with a child’s train engineer costume.
The initial encounter between the two men was friendly. When Officer Buckallew asked Morrow to sit down in the back of his cruiser, the suspect complied.
In the video, he chattered away and told the officer that he had been visiting his parents who had just returned from vacation in Hawaii.
Morrow remained cooperative until Officer Buckallew told him that he needed to apply handcuffs because he had a warrant, the video showed.
That’s when everything went sideways and Morrow’s train outfit suddenly made sense.
“You sir, have been warned,” Morrow announced.
“I, Kaleb Morrow, am the general manager of the Appanoose County Community Railroad, and you are interfering with official public acts,” he said very formally. “I am a private railroad agent.”
Morrow nonsensically told the officer that he would face the penalty of death or life in prison as the officer tried to get him out of the car to handcuff him.
“You ready to die?” Morrow asked Officer Buckallew.
“I’m ex-military partner – I’ve face death before,” the officer responded.
That’s when Morrow started threatening the officer’s children, although what exactly he was threatening was unclear, the video showed.
“Go ahead and spin around so I can cuff you from behind if you’re going to be an a–hole,” Officer Buckallew said in the video
The officer remained calm as Morrow became more and more agitated.
The video showed Morrow telling the officer which federal railroad regulations he was violating.
Morrow questioned the officer’s military service and then spoke nonsensically again.
“You know that I had no chance to be a man. I went straight from child to man,” Morrow informed him.
“You are not Air Force and you will be tried for impersonating an officer,” he ranted at the officer in the video.
“I’m ex-Air Force,” Officer Buckallew told him in a calm voice. “I was in during Desert Storm and I’m not being a jerk. I just want to cuff you so I can take you to the Law Center.”
“You’re not being a jerk, you’re being an insurgent,” Morrow replied, indignant.
The video showed Officer Buckallew tried to calm Morrow down and warned him that other officers would be arriving.
He told Morrow he didn’t want him to be hurt or get into more trouble.
Then the video showed Officer Buckallew tried to pull Morrow out of the car, but the big man wouldn’t budge.
“You sir, are impersonating an officer,” Morrow raged.
“I’m going to tase you if you don’t quit,” the officer warned.
The video showed he threatened the officer’s children again as they began to struggle.
“Let go of me,” the officer told Morrow.
“You let go of me,” Morrow yelled and then he attacked Officer Buckallew.
“I will kill you,” Morrow said as he pulled the officer to the ground in the video. “I’m a soldier.”
Police said that Morrow punched Officer Buckallew in the face multiple times and slapped him, the Daily Iowegian reported.
Centerville Sergeant Jeremy Cole arrived on the scene as the two men were grappling on the pavement and quickly intervened.
The video showed Sgt. Cole pulled Morrow off of the other officer, and then Officer Buckallew deployed his Taser after the suspect continued to be non-compliant.
Morrow was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault on a police officer, interference with official acts, assault while participating in a felony, and first-degree harassment, according to the Daily Iowegian.
Officer Buckallew suffered injuries to his right elbow, left knee, and neck as a result of the beating he endured.
Centerville Police Chief Tom Demry said the officer was treated at the hospital and released, and had not suffered any permanent damage, the Daily Iowegian reported.
Watch the arrest go bad in the video below – the attack happens at about the 6 minute mark: