Officer Who Stopped Salon Holdup Gets Promoted
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg announced the promotion Tuesday of police Officer Feris Jones to detective in recognition of her bravery in Saturday's Brooklyn salon shooting.
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1010 WINS' Stan Brooks reports
Jones was off-duty and getting her hair done when Winston Cox came in and announced a holdup at Sabine's Hallway Beauty Salon in Clinton Hill.
Cox ordered Jones and three other women into a back room. Jones told everyone to stay down, grabbed her gun and stepped outside to confront the man, CBS 2's Tony Aiello reported.
"I always carry my gun...I'm always armed," Jones said at a press conference Tuesday.
The result was cinematic. Police said Cox fired at Jones four times but missed. Jones managed to both shoot the suspect's gun out of his hand and the handle off the front door, briefly blocking his escape.
Cox got away, but was arrested Monday morning and charged with attempted murder as well as robbery.
Jones said the new title would take some getting used to and told reporters to call her "Jonesy."
Bloomberg commended the officer for her "incredible bravery" and said her story would be "told at the police department for many years to come."
Kelly also said praised Jones and said the scenario highlighted the fact that "police officers never know when they [would] be called upon to protect members of the public."
"She was ready for him demonstrating stunning marksmanship," Kelly said about Jones' exploits.
Jones, 50, a Barbados native and divorced mother of an adult child, had never fired a gun in the line of duty during her two-decade police career. Officials described her as a respected member of the force, most recently assigned to the crime lab.
And Jones finally was able to get her hair done.
"It took three days, but it's a lot of hair," Jones joked.
