ECTOR COUNTY, Texas — Lubbock County Sheriff’s SWAT leader, Sgt. Joshua Bartlett, was killed in a Levelland standoff that injured four other officers.
For law enforcement in the Permian Basin, that scenario is all too familiar.
"It's a very sad situation and there's bad people like that in every community and in every part of our state, country, county. From the information I got, this individual was looking for trouble and that's exactly what he did, was cause trouble," Mike Griffis, Ector County sheriff said.
What happened in Levelland Thursday night reminds us just how life-threatening these standoffs can be, and how someone's life can be taken in a moment, even if all the correct steps are followed.
"These guys are more trained in the tactics in which to take out an individual or outsmart an individual in a high-tense situation. They train, they physically train in fitness, they train in their weaponry," Griffis said. "The commander, he may be in front of his group or in back of his group, it just depends on the situation."
Sheriff Griffis says standoffs can happen anytime, anywhere. They can last from minutes, to hours, to days.
"If there's no contact made, like they did last night, we might probably send a robot in there with a camera, we'll find out where the individual is, we can identify who he is and identify any other people in that building," Griffis said.
The best case scenario: No one gets hurt.
But as we know, like many others, Sergeant Bartlett paid the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of those around him.
"He gave his life for not really his community, but for people of his state and he's a hero. He was trying to help protect his neighbors and he's to be remembered as a hero," Griffis said.
The sheriff says the suspect in the Levelland case could be transferred here to Ector County in a few days, but that's still not confirmed or decided yet.