a story from Sgt. Eric Cowans

Eric Cowans was with the Menlo Park Police from 1993 to 2005. His favorite venue: the streets. Nicknamed "Jedi" early in his career, he was one of Menlo Park's most pro-active officers.  He related this scary event to me with as much enthusiasm today as he did the day it occurred. It took place during what we now call "The Wild West Days"—the early and mid '90s. Dante Carter, a notorious local hood, was nearly always armed, and always considered a threat. On this particular cool spring night, both officer and hood went to the very border of life …

When the brown Camaro drove by him, Cowans identified the driver immediately. It was Dante Carter. Cowans had heard he'd just been paroled; he also knew that Carter didn't have a driver's license. He watched from his parked position on the side of the road as Carter suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. Cowans quickly started his patrol car and pulled in behind the stopped Camaro, applying only his amber rear lights; he didn't want to "light up" the car and make it seem like a detention—Carter had been known to run. He called for backup and decided he'd play Carter for time until his backup arrived. He didn't want to go head to head with Carter without help. No one did.

He approached the driver's window and acted surprised to see Carter. "Dante!  Welcome back!  When did you get out?" Carter, caught a bit off guard, said, "Last week …" Cowans made small talk, asking if something was wrong with the car. He asked Carter if he was living back home in Menlo. Carter told him he was back at his same old address.

(Carter's house had suffered more drive-by shootings than any other residence in the history of the Belle Haven. Eric sighed, knowing we'd be out there again soon, working another 246 case.)

When two CHP units pulled up, Eric casually shifted his focus. He asked Dante for his driver's license. Dante told him he didn't have one. When Eric pointed out that he, Carter, was on parole, and so was subject to search, Carter hit the gas. The chase was on.

The pursuit quickly moved southbound on the 101 freeway. With Chippies in tow, speeds quickly reached 120-plus. At the San Antonio exit Carter decided he would attempt to "shave" his pursuers by taking the exit at the last possible moment. The move backfired. His sudden jerk of the wheel broke loose his own tires; he quickly lost control of the Camaro and it spun onto the shoulder, then into the ice plant, creating a cloud of smoke and debris. The car came to rest against some bushes; Carter, unhurt, bailed and attempted to elude the still-pursuing officers.

For a moment Cowans thought he had lost Carter. The noise of the freeway disguised Carter's movements. Cowans dropped to one knee and waited. The flashes of passing freeway lights played oddly against the bushes, creating strange shadows in the night and making it very dangerous to be standing in the open. Suddenly he saw Carter break from the bushes about 30 yards away. The sprint through the ice plant was awkward but also advantageous; it was a nearly silent sprint, so Carter didn't hear what was coming. When he caught up to Carter, Cowans dived onto his back; the fight was on. The recent years devoted to weightlifting at San Quentin had built Carter up. The two men now found themselves on hard dirt. When the loaded clip fell from the felon's waistband, Cowans realized the potential cost of losing the battle. Strikes to his face had little or no effect on Carter. It quickly became a ground fight.

When Cowans reached around for a better position, he felt the gun. Locked now into a life or death struggle, he forced his weight onto Carter's back. This prevented Carter from grabbing the gun. Try as he might, Carter couldn't force his hand beneath his own weight to gain access to the weapon. It was time for Cowans to make a crucial decision: should he back off and pull his own weapon? The risk, of course, would be the uncertainty of who would be "quicker on the draw ..."

Cowans opted to use his ground-fighting skills, and went for Carter's carotid arteries. It was a risky tactic available only to a few: those who knew the maneuver, and those who could apply it correctly. Cowans feigned a punch and took hold of Carter's neck; he was able to apply the carotid cutoff properly the first time, quickly rendering Carter unconscious. Cowans turned Carter over and removed the loaded 9mm handgun, cuffing the suspect just as he began to come to. When officers arrived to assist Cowans, he was exhausted. Cowans hadn't realized that two other officers had attempted to assist him through the last part of the fight. He was that focused on the battle ...

Carter was sentenced to three more years for that particular incident.

Carter's other prior arrests had included attempted murder, brandishing weapons (several counts), drug dealing, evading police, and a host of other crimes.

Case closed.

Note -

Carter was violently murdered last year. He was found on a sidewalk, shot to death. Investigators later learned the reason. He'd cheated while street gambling.